Malaysia: Frontier Digital invests $3.5m in classified portals AutoDeal, Propzy

FDV co-founder and CEO Shaun Di Gregorio

By Tanu Pandey

June 7, 2017

Malaysia’s Catcha-backed Frontier Digital Ventures (FDV) has invested $3.5 million in two online classifieds portals — Philippines’ new car sales portal Autodeal and Vietnam’s transaction-focused real estate classifieds business Propzy.

In an announcement on Wednesday, FDV revealed it had invested $2.34 million (A$3.1 million) in Autodeal and $1.2 million (A$1.6 million) in Propzy.

FDV is focused on its strategy of establishing a market value of over A$100 million for each of its monetising investments through subsequent funding rounds or stake sales, it said in its statement.

The investment in AutoDeal will see FDV’s expansion into the Philippines market where the former is a market leader based on traffic and customer numbers in the highly valuable new car segment. With approximately 1.7 million visits per month, AutoDeal aims to leverage FDV’s online classified expertise to achieve market leadership in the used car market by 2018.

Meanwhile, the Propzy investment is in line with FDV’s focus on high-growth frontier markets like Vietnam. Propzy focuses on high quality listings from qualified and approved real estate agents. Its online platform connects an agent with a potential buyer and facilitates a meeting; Propzy receives a commission based on the sale value the agent achieves.

“We see a clear path for AutoDeal to leverage our experience in other markets as it seeks to extend its leadership across both new and used car sectors. Propzy will bring significant synergies to our portfolio as it represents our first investment into a fully transaction focused classifieds business, rather than relying on traditional advertising revenue,” said FDV founder and CEO Shaun Di Gregorio.

Both portfolio companies will move straight into FDV’s tier 1 portfolio category given their current stage of rapid monetisation, he added.

FDV’s portfolio currently consists of 15 market leading companies operating across 19 markets. It had raised $21.7 million (AUD 30 million) via a listing on the Australian Stock Exchange in August last year.

“We continue to look for entrepreneurs in this region – South Asia, particularly Pakistan, Myanmar and other less developed markets. We invest in market leading classified businesses and we want to continue to do that,” Gregorio had told DEALSTREETASIA in an interaction last year.

Also Read:

Frontier Digital Ventures invests $3.5m in PakWheels.com

Frontier Digital Ventures buys 32% in Moroccan automotive portal Moteur.ma

Exclusive: Partner local players for better execution: FDV founder

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In Singapore, we are looking to double our reporting team by this year-end to comprehensively cover the fast-moving world of funded startups and VC, PE & M&A deals. We want reporters who can tell our readers what is really happening in these sectors and why it matters to markets, companies and consumers. The ability to write precisely and urgently is crucial for these roles. Ideal candidates must have to ability to work in a collaborative, dynamic, and fast-changing environment. We want our new hires to be digitally savvy and ready to experiment with new forms of storytelling. Most importantly, we are looking for hard-hitting reporters who work well in a team. Collaboration and collegiality are a must.

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).

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  • A reporter to track companies/startups that have raised private capital, and have the potential to become unicorns. SEA currently has over 40 companies with a valuation of over $100 million and under $1 billion.
  • A reporter who can get behind the scenes and reveal how funding rounds are put together, or why they’ve failed to materialise. She/he in this role will largely focus on long-format stories. 
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