Google Capital, one of the corporate venturing units of the eponymous internet search engine, has invested $50m in US online real estate auction site, Auction.com. The company has sold nearly $20bn in assets since 2010. With this latest investment, the company is valued at over $1.2bn.
Auction.com, the world’s largest online real estate marketplace, has attracted $50m from Google Capital. As part of the investment, one representative from Google Capital will join the company’s Board of Directors and another will take a board observer position.
“Auction.com has quietly built one of the largest marketplaces on the web,” said David Lawee, Partner at Google Capital (pictured). “We think Auction.com can fundamentally change how real estate, and particularly commercial real estate, can be bought and sold, levelling the playing field for smaller investors.”
Jeff Frieden, CEO and Co-Founder of Auction.com said of the investment, “This will give us an opportunity to tap into their [Google’s] deep expertise in digital marketing and mobile, as well as in building world-class products.”
According to the CEO over $7bn of commercial and residential real estate traded through the online marketplace in 2013. “We believe that having Google Capital’s support will help us expand our industry leadership, and carve out a bigger share of the global real estate market.”
Google Capital joins other strategic shareholders in Auction.com including Starwood Capital Group, Starwood Property Trust, Stone Point Capital and funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group.
Google Capital was formed in 2013 and previously invested in Survey Monkey, Lending Club and Renaissance Learning. JPMorgan Securities LLC served as sole private placement agent for Auction.com in conjunction with the transaction.
