Property Finder acquires Bahrain real estate portal

Deal follows investments in Turkey's Zingat and UAE's JRD Group

Michael Lahyani, founder of Property Finder, is on an acquisition spree to expand the portal's operations in the Middle East and North Africa. Antonie Robertson / The National

Property Finder Group, the UAE-based real estate listings portal, acquired Bahrain Property World platform for an undisclosed sum. It is the latest in the company's Mena acquisition spree in the past few weeks.

“This is one of three high-powered strategic moves since closing our latest round of investment led by [private equity company] General Atlantic,” said Michael Lahyani, founder and chief executive of Dubai-headquartered Property Finder.

The Bahrain acquisition will enable Property Finder to continue investing in a market where the company sees "a lot of potential. It’s a testament to the potential growth we expect from the country,” Mr Lahyani said on Tuesday.

Property Finder has been operating in Bahrain since 2013 through its real estate sales and rental listings platform Propertyfinder.bh. The acquisition of Bahrain Property World comes after Property Finder raised $120 million in funding from US-based General Atlantic last November.

Since securing the financing, the company has expanded its operations in the Middle East and North Africa. It raised its stake in Turkish property portal Zingat in March, and struck a deal to acquire JRD Group, the operator of rival UAE websites Justproperty.com and Propspace.com earlier this month.

“Property professionals in Bahrain will have the opportunity to introduce their inventory in multiple markets where Property Finder Group has on-the-ground operations and a large audience of investors,” Mr Lahyani said.

Under the deal, Steven Filipowicz, founder of Bahrain Property World, will continue to play a role in the day-to-day operations of the combined entity, although Property Finder did not specify what that role would be.

Last week, competing UAE property listings and research company Bayut acquired Lamudi, owned by Middle East Internet Group, for an undisclosed sum. Bayut also plans to launch expanded operations in Saudi Arabia, in another example of consolidation in the online real estate services industry.