General Atlantic Leads $ 120 Million Investment at Dubai PropertyFind

Investment firm Naseem News Direct, General Atlantic, took a $ 120 million investment and acquired a minority interest in PropertyFinder's real estate advertising site in the Middle East.

Banker General Manager Vinder told Reuters that the money would be invested in products and technologies.

"We want to continue to provide the best products and data available to the public," said Michael Lahiani at the company's headquarters in Dubai.

The proceeds from the sale will be used to expand existing markets in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon and Morocco, he added.

The company is expected to add about 200 employees to its current workforce of 450 people by the end of 2019. But it has not shown the size of the stake acquired by General Atlantic, based in New York.

Upon completion of the investment, Chris Kalkin, Chief Technology Officer for Europe, Middle East and Africa at General Atlantic, will join the PropertyFinder Board of Directors.

The other two PropertyFinder investors are Endeavor, a non-profit organization, and Vostok New Ventures.

Lahaini said the developer's current value was close to $ 500 million and refused to disclose a specific figure.

The value of the site was estimated at $ 200 million in 2016, when it sold 10% of the capital of Vostok, a Stockholm-listed company for $ 20 million.

Laheyani said the site, created in 2007, had made profits in the past four years and recorded six million monthly visits to the site, in the Middle East and North America markets. In Turkey, PropertyFinder holds a minority stake in Zainat.