BANGKOK/DUBAI/LAHORE: EMPG, the parent company of Pakistan’s top property portal Zameen.com and the leading online property portal group in the MENA and South Asia regions, has announced that it has acquired Thailand’s largest online marketplace Kaidee.
The transaction was closed in February 2020. The transaction value was not disclosed.
EMPG owns and operates Zameen in Pakistan, Bayut in the GCC, Bproperty in Bangladesh and Mubawab in Morocco and Tunisia. Headquartered in Bangkok, Kaidee was founded in 2011 and quickly rose to become the leading online marketplace in Thailand, a Southeast Asian nation of nearly 70 million people. The portal boasts a strong brand and sizeable traffic figures, and features more than 30 different categories of goods and services.
EMPG CEO Imran Ali Khan said the group’s approach to online marketplaces is very consumer-driven and localized.
“Thailand is one of the most exciting, dynamic markets in Southeast Asia, and its real estate and auto verticals are some of the largest in the region,” said Imran. “Kaidee has a rich history in Thailand and has built a very strong brand on the back of extraordinary focus on technology and connecting consumers, and we look forward to investing significant resources to take the business to the next level,” he added.
EMPG Co-founder and Zameen.com CEO Zeeshan Ali Khan welcomed Kaidee into the group.
“EMPG is a quickly growing family, and we are happy to see Thailand’s top marketplace join its ranks,” said Zeeshan. “This acquisition comes with a number of opportunities to learn and grow for both parties, and capitalizing on them is going to be very important. We look forward to stepping into the broader marketplace dynamic, and in turn hope to impart significant experience on the real estate vertical side,” he added.
Kaidee’s CEO Tiwa York welcomed EMPG. “EMPG is at the forefront of the global online marketplace industry and has grown to prominence given its focus on providing localized solutions to each market in which it operates. This acquisition will allow Kaidee to accelerate its plans to provide market-leading solutions to Thailand across all of our verticals,” said York.
After the conclusion of the deal, Imran Ali Khan and the group’s senior executive Mark Nosworthy have joined the Kaidee Board of Directors.