Malaysia-based digital investment firm Frontier Digital Ventures today announced that it is going to participate again in a fundraising round for Zameen, a leading property portal in Pakistan.
Having first invested in the company in May 2014, Frontier will maintain its current equity shareholding at 30 per cent, which will be valued at US$27 million upon conclusion of the fundraising.
According to a press statement, Zameen conducts the fundraising by way of an equal access rights issue to existing shareholders.
“Under the proposed issue, new shares are being offered to existing shareholders that value the company at US$83 million. The valuation reflects the rapid growth of the business across all key metrics, its dominant market position and the size of the market in Pakistan, and is consistent with the valuation multiples used on past capital raisings from new investors,” it said.
The company itself plans to use the new funding to “extend its already dominant market leadership position,” increase consumers’ brand awareness with and for investment in new product innovation for advertisers.
Frontier’s investment in Zameen was also the firm’s maiden investment, announced during the Frontier’s launch in the same month.
Frontier CEO Shaun Di Gregorio stated that Zameen has exceeded its key performance indicators (KPIs) for growth in advertisers, increasing number of monthly visits and leads generated from consumers to advertisers.
“The business is a great example of the value that can be created in online marketplace in emerging markets and validates our strategy of partnering with local entrepreneurs running market leading online marketplace businesses,” he said.
In October 2014, the firm had also invested in Pakistani automotive website PakWheels.
Apart from Pakistan, it has also invested in Myanmar-based startups MyanmarCarsDB and iMyanmarhouse.
Source: e27