Swedish online real estate company Hemnet plans an IPO in Stockholm
By Supantha Mukherjee and Helena Soderpalm
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Swedish real estate web portal Hemnet, backed by US private equity firm General Atlantic, is considering listing its shares on Nasdaq Stockholm, it said Thursday.
Founded in 1998, Hemnet was acquired by General Atlantic and Sprints Capital in 2016 for around 2 billion crowns ($ 232 million) and the company is now Sweden’s largest housing portal.
General Atlantic has a 60% stake in Hemnet and Sprints 17%.
“We are not looking for new money, so it is the current shareholders who are selling in this IPO,” CEO Cecilia Beck-Friis told Reuters.
She declined to give Hemnet’s current valuation, but according to a source familiar with the matter, the company is currently valued at around SEK 10 billion ($ 1.16 billion).
Hemnet, which achieved sales of 544 million crowns last year, said listing is expected to take place in the second quarter.
“We are at the very beginning of our commercial journey and we still have a lot to do in Sweden. We are therefore focused on expanding our business in Sweden, ”said Beck-Friis.
“Hemnet’s total addressable market in 2026 would be worth around SEK 4-6 billion and that includes SEO revenue as well as advertising and various services.”
Hemnet’s said it has a mid-term adjusted operating margin (EBITDA) target of 45% to 50%, up from 37% in 2020.
Swedish house prices hit all-time highs in 2020 and house prices on average are expected to be 9% higher in 2021, according to a report https://insights.nordea.com/en/economics/nordic-housing-prices / #: ~: text = According to% 20to% 20our% 20forecast% 2C% 20the, prices% 20support% 20the% 20 economic% 20recovery. & text = We% 20expect% 20that% 20Swedish% 20home, in% 202021% 20compared% 20to% 202020 by Nordéa.
The price of single-family homes climbed 17% in the first three months of the year, according to https://www.reuters.com/article/sweden-houseprices/record-rise-in-swedish-house-prices- raises-overheating -fears-idINL8N2LZ1RM in Svensk Maklarstatistik, an association of real estate agents.
“High demand and low supply, as well as the pandemic have somewhat altered market preferences and the behavior of people looking for larger apartments or houses or villas,” Beck-Friis said.
($ 1 = 8.6180 Swedish kronor)
(Reporting by Helena Soderpalm and Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm; editing by Shailesh Kuber and Jason Neely)