Avendus advises Quikr on a transaction with HDFC to launch online-to-offline solutions.

Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC Ltd.), India’s leading mortgage company today announced that it has entered into definitive agreements to transfer its entire shareholding in HDFC Realty Limited, a real estate brokerage platform; and, HDFC Developers Limited (which runs the HDFC RED platform) to Quikr, India’s market leader in digital classified business. HDFC has also acquired an equity stake in Quikr India Private Limited (Quikr India).

Avendus Capital was the exclusive financial advisor to Quikr for this transaction.

HDFC Realty is HDFC’s offline brokerage business with a presence across residential and commercial properties as well as consulting and valuation services. It has a 300-member inhouse sales team and 7,000 strong nationwide broker network. RED is an online real estate classifieds platform with ~7,000 project listings on its platform. It generates traffic of over 80,000 unique visitors per month.

With 30mn monthly users, Quikr is India’s largest classifieds platform that runs multiple vertical businesses across real estate, automobiles, jobs, services and goods. Its real estate vertical ‘Quikr Homes’ generates 3.5mn monthly unique visitors. The company has rapidly established itself as a leader in digital real estate.

Post integration of HDFC Realty and RED, Quikr will become India’s leading online-to-offline real estate platform, and offer consumers end-to-end home buying services. The transaction also takes HDFC a step further in engaging with customers at the start of their real estate purchase cycle, when they are browsing for properties on Quikr’s digital platforms.

HDFC will also work closely with Quikr to jointly conduct analytics and identify potential homebuyers, and therefore home loan customers, early in their home buying journey. HDFC RED will further strengthen Quikr’s existing leadership in classifieds whereas the brokerage business will help the two partners bring closure to enquiries generated from consumer demand. This positions Quikr to strongly benefit from the recent regulatory changes in real estate sector that have created new opportunities for organized players. Given the varied needs of customers, besides leveraging HDFC Realty’s brokerage capabilities, Quikr will continue to work with external brokers as it does currently to ensure full coverage.

Commenting on the development, Ms. Renu Sud Karnad, Managing Director, HDFC Ltd said, “We are happy to associate with Quikr. The future of real estate is ‘digital’ and Quikr has built a robust technology platform for consumers with products for developers and brokers who stand to benefit in the post-RERA regime. We hope to derive value from Quikr’s diversified customer base, while offering our strengths in the real estate sector.”

On the announcement Pranay Chulet, Founder and CEO, Quikr, said, “The partnership with HDFC has come at the most opportune time when the Indian real estate industry is undergoing fundamental transformation, creating great opportunities for those who want to bring new, innovative solutions for all industry stakeholders. We see great synergies between Quikr and HDFC as we start working together to bring a seamless online-to-offline platform to developers and consumers. We are excited to combine the force of the Quikr and HDFC brands as we continue to innovate for India.”

Karan Sharma, Co-head and Director, Digital & Technology practice at Avendus Capital, commented, “Quikr has been a leader in online classifieds. This transaction will help create an online to offline solution that will broaden the scope of real estate services that Quikr can provide to its home buying customers - right from discovery to offline assistance.”

About Quikr

Quikr is India’s largest classifieds platform that is used by over 30 million unique users a month. It is present in 1000 cities in India and operates several large classifieds businesses across real estate, automobiles, jobs, services and goods. Quikr is accessible across mobile app, mobile site as well as desktop, and allows consumers as well as small businesses to sell, buy, rent and find things across its multiple categories with great ease. Quikr’s investors include Tiger Global Management, Kinnevik, Warburg Pincus, Matrix Partners India, Norwest Venture Partners, Nokia Growth Partners, Steadview Capital, Omidyar Network etc.

About HDFC Ltd

Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd (HDFC), the pioneer of retail housing finance in India has assisted over 61 lakh families to own their house. HDFC’s strength has been its valueadded services, delivered through a specialist team of trained and experienced professionals. HDFC has consistently had an impeccable record of customer friendly services.

HDFC has been described as a model housing finance company providing technical assistance and consultancy assignments for developing countries across Asia, Africa and East Europe. HDFC‘s average loan is around Rs 26 lakh and has been catering to affordable housing segment. HDFC has been awarded amongst the top performing institutions under the Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme – Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) in 2017.

About Avendus

The Avendus Group (Avendus) is a leading provider of financial services with an emphasis on customized solutions in the areas of Investment Banking, Wealth Management, Structured Credit Solutions and Alternative Assets Management. Avendus relies on its extensive experience, in-depth domain understanding and knowledge of the regulatory environment, to offer customized solutions that enable clients to meet their strategic aspirations. Avendus Capital, the investment banking arm, has consistently been ranked among the leading financial advisors by overall number of deals. It has a strong track record of cross-border transactions and has helped multiple clients benefit from opportunities across geographies. Avendus’s wide range of clients is testimony to its ability to serve its corporate clients throughout their life cycle – from growth stage funding to complex, large sized transactions later in the cycle.

Avendus Capital Inc and Avendus Capital (UK) Pvt Ltd located in New York and London respectively are wholly owned subsidiaries offering M&A and Private Equity syndication services to clients in the respective regions.

For more information, please visit www.avendus.com