HDFC to sell HDFC Developers, HDFC Realty to Quikr India for Rs 357 cr

Tiger Global-backed online classifieds platform Quikr has acquired HDFC Developers Ltd. and HDFC Realty Ltd. in a deal that is valued at Rs 357 crore, as it looks to earn higher margins by accessing premium realty buyers and also expanding offline.

In a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange, HDFC said that it had approved the 100 percent sale of HDFC Developers and HDFC Realty to Quikr for Rs 101.99 crore and Rs 254.98 crore respectively. It added that the sale of the two units would be completed prior to the close of the current financial year.

For Quikr, the deal marks its fifth acquisition in the real estate space, with Realtycompass, Indian Realty Exchange, Commonfloor and Grabhouse being the previous buys. The company will also gain access to the offline brokerage market with HDFC Realty, which it says has a network of 7,000 brokers and a 300 member in-house team.

With HDFC Developers, which runs the online platform HDFC Red, Quikr will acquire listings of over 7,000 projects and traffic of 80,000 unique visitors every month. While the details of the deal were not fully disclosed by Quikr, it did say that HDFC would acquire stake in it through the sale.

"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," said Pranay Chulet, founder and CEO of Quikr, in a statement.

Business Standard had first reported of the two HDFC units to Quikr on April 27. The story had said that a term sheet for the deal had been signed.

Going forward, HDFC will continue to work with Quikr to identify potential home-buyers and home loan customers. The company said the deal would put it in a stronger position due to recent regulatory changes made in the real estate sector that favours organised players over individual brokers.

"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," said Renu Sud Karnad, Managing Director at HDFC Ltd.