- Indian real estate service providers PropTiger and Housing.com are merging to create that country's largest portal for property services.
- The move represents a shift in priorities for the giants invested in them: a boost in investment for News Corp. (NWS -0.4%, NWSA +0.1%), which is PropTiger's biggest investor, and a pullback for SoftBank (OTCPK:SFTBY +1.3%), the largest investor in Housing.com (the formerly high-flying start-up which was beleaguered by intra-company fights and the dismissal of a CEO).
- Australia's REA Group (61% owned by News Corp.) will invest $50M into the combination and a SoftBank affiliate will invest $5M.
- Current Housing.com chief Jason Kothari will leave the company after the deal's done, and PropTiger CEO Dhruv Agarwala will lead the combination.