New York based global media and information services company – News Corp has invested $ 30 Mn for 25% stake in Elara Technologies, which owns the Indian real estate website, PropTiger.com. PropTiger’s existing investors SAIF Partners, Accel Partners and Horizen Ventures, have further agreed to add up $7 Mn to their current investment.
News Corp is controlled by Rupert Murdoch, owns the Wall Street Journal newspaper and HarperCollins book publisher, and runs the real estate website realtor.com.
“India has more than 270 million Internet users and the number is growing exponentially.1 There is no doubt that the development of digital is empowering individuals and transforming industries, and we are extremely enthusiastic about the potential for PropTiger.com as the country fulfills its digital destiny,” said Robert Thomson, Chief Executive of News Corp.
“PropTiger.com will provide analysis, information and insight so that Indians will be better informed when they make the most significant investment decision any family will make, buying a home. We believe the site will be the most important platform for developers seeking to market new properties and the most trusted and reliable source for purchasers, many of whom will be buying for the first time,” he added.
About 10,000 properties, with a combined value of over $1 Bn, have already been bought by Indian homebuyers through PropTiger.com. It is estimated that India will be a $158 Bn residential real estate market by 2020.
“News Corp and PropTiger.com have a shared vision to use technology, high quality data and rich content to bring transparency and simplicity to the home buying experience and to help consumers make well informed decisions,” said Dhruv Agarwala, co-founder of PropTiger.com.
PropTiger.com was founded in 2011 by Dhruv Agarwala, Kartik Varma and Prashan Agarwal. As part of the investment, Raju Narisetti, News Corp Senior Vice President, Strategy, will also join Elara’s Singapore-based board.
