Murdoch backed PropTiger takes over Makaan.com

Real estate portal PropTiger on Wednesday said it has acquired rival Makaan.com for an undisclosed amount as the Rupert Murdoch-backed website aims to ramp up its presence in India's secondary property market. PropTiger's parent firm, Elara Technologies said it has entered into a transaction with Makaan.com Pvt Ltd, owner of the site.

Both the portals will run separately. "Our parent firm Elara has acquired Makaan.com, which will keep operating as a separate portal. No fresh funds were raised for this acquisition," PropTiger.com co-founder Dhruv Agarwala said. Agarwala did not disclose the acquisition amount. Last November, Rupert Murdoch-led News Corp had acquired 25 per cent stake in PropTiger for $30 million (Rs 185 crore) as part of its strategy to expand presence in digital media. Elara's other investors include SAIF Partners, Accel Partners and Horizon Ventures.

Earlier this month, PropTiger had acquired Bangalore-based Out of Box Interaction (OoBI), a digital interaction design company that specialises in displaying real estate projects in an immersive way. Asked about the reason for acquiring Makaan.com, Agarwala said: "It has a strong presence in the 

property resale market, while PropTiger is strong in the primary market."

The acquisition creates a comprehensive online real-estate platform, which will offer end-to-end services to home buyers, real estate developers, property brokers, banks and private equity investors, he added. Since 2011, around 12,000 homes worth $1.2 billion have been purchased through PropTiger's platform.