Why IPGA Acquired Indonesia’s Largest Property Portals [Interview]

Indonesia has been a recent point of focus in the Asian tech scene, starting with the acquisition of Koprol by Yahoo and then Disdus by Groupon. Recently Multiply launched its social commerce business, and Japan’s Rakuten will be launched here as well. And now Rumah123, the nation’s leading property portal, and RumahdanProperti (which is just two places behind the Rumah123) have both been acquired by IPGA Ltd, to be managed under its iProperty brand.

The official release that we received from IPGA Ltd. can be found below. But to follow up on this, we have conducted a short interview with Shaun Di Gregorio, the CEO of IPGA Ltd, to find out a little more on this matter.

1. Regarding the acquisition of Rumah123 and RumahdanProperti.com, why those two?  And why now?

We focus on being number one and a market leader wherever we operate. We are a growth company with leadership positions in Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore with investments in India and The Philippines. This makes us Asia’s number one property portal group. This position has been and will continue to be driven our focus on innovation.

We identified Indonesia as a growth market for us and one that fitted our overall strategy. We then identified rumah123.com as the leading property portal in Indonesia and set about acquiring them. In addition we will also acquire the number three ranked portal rumahdanproperti. This gives us an unbeatable and dominant position in Indonesia.

2. How long have you been interested in them, and how long did it take to negotiate the deal?

These types of deals always take time. The vendors and iProperty Group have shared a close relationship for some time and we share a similar passion for the Internet.

3. With the leading and third property portals in Indonesia now under iProperty, what are your plans for in that country?

Our plan is to provide our customers with the best possible solution for their marketing and build long term and enduring relationships. The combination of rumah123 and rumahdanproperti will provide unparalleled access to property hunters in Indonesia and as part of iProperty across the entire region

For consumers they’ll have access to more properties than any other property portal in Indonesia and across Asia via the iProperty Network of market leading property portals.

4. With the acquisition, you now have portals based in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and India. Will we see you expand even further across Asia?

We are very methodical about our growth plans. We identify markets that we think make sense and then focus on execution excellence. We think there are a number of other markets in the region that fit our strategy and growth plans but we are focused on getting our Indonesian acquisitions on track.

5. How do you see the tech startup scene in Indonesia?

I think the tech start up scene has a lot to offer with some very bright and passionate people doing a lot of really cool stuff. The big challenge is turning ideas into meaningful businesses.