Rupert Murdoch is expanding his real estate muscle – and this time in India.
News Corp, the media and publishing company controlled by Mr Murdoch, said on Monday it had acquired a 25 per cent stake in PropTiger.com, an Indian property website, for $30m.
Through this acquisition, Murdoch is looking to tap into the growth in India’s property and internet users.
India’s burgeoning real estate sector is projected to post a compound annual growth rate of 11.6 per cent from in the decade to 2020, when revenues are expected to total $180bn, according to the India Brand Equity Foundation
India is expected to have 302m internet users by December, second only to China, according to a report from the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB International.
The purchase comes two months after News Corp agreed to buy US property website, Move, for $950m.
News Corp has a 61.6 per cent stake in REA Group, which operates Australian residential property website, realestate.com.au and a stake in iProperty which has a huge presence in South East Asia.
Of the PropTiger.com acquisition, News Corp chief executive, Robert Thomson, said:
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.
News Corp shares slipped nearly 2 per cent after hours and are down 14 per cent so far this year.
