Minority shareholders in Netherlands-based real estate marketplace Funda.nl have finally obtained the right to liquidate their holdings, according to a news release from majority shareholder NVM Holding.
When Funda was established in 2001, members of NVM were given the right to buy a stake in it. With more than 4,400 affiliated brokers/valuers, NVM owns around 90% of the property site, and, until now, minority shareholders have not been allowed to sell their depositary receipts.
“NVM Holding, Funda and representatives of certificate holders now want to give certificate holders the opportunity to sell their certificates at a fair price,” said NVM.
The decision comes in the wake of a regulatory probe into Funda’s ownership structure.
“After the completion of a strategy process by NVM Holding and the decision of the Enterprise Chamber of 10 Feb 2022, further work has been done on enabling Funda certificate holders to be able to offer their certificates,” said NVM.
“The option of a new third minority shareholder for Funda who acquires the interests of (part of) the depositary receipt holders was also examined … selected interested parties are now invited to make a non-binding offer on the basis of an information package.”
“This non-binding offer must ultimately lead to the choice of a party with whom a transaction can be realized. We await this confidential process. Therefore, there is nothing more to say about it at the moment. We will make further announcements once this phase in the process has been completed.”
Funda’s net earnings amounted to $9.7 million U.S. on revenue of $21.3 million during the first half of 2022.
According to Similarweb, it is the leading property marketplace in the Netherlands, with monthly traffic of 32.9 million visits in April 2023, dwarfing its rivals, which include Huispedia.nl (1.8 million visits in the same month), Pararius.nl (1.6 million) and Kamernet.nl (1.6 million).