Clairfield advises Adevinta ASA on the sale of its Hungarian subsidiary to Ingatlan.com

Clairfield is pleased to announce the closure of Adevinta’s sale of its Hungarian online classifieds businesses Jófogás, Használtautó.hu, and Autónavigátor to Ingatlan.com, the leading real estate classifieds platform in Hungary.

A joint Clairfield Hungarian/Austrian project team managed the sale process from identification of targets, preparation of investor materials, and moderation of meetings with prospective buyers to management of due diligence, support in contract negotiations, and preparation of transition issues.

With revenues of EUR 1.6 billion in 2022, Adevinta ASA (ADE.OL) provides technology-based services to connect buyers with sellers and facilitate transactions from real estate to motors and consumer goods. The Group has a portfolio spanning digital marketplaces in 11 countries and more than 25 digital brands, covering one billion people, and attracting approximately an average of 2.5 billion monthly visits.

As part of Adevinta’s strategy to focus on driving growth in its five core European markets of Benelux, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, in February, Adevinta announced the launch of the sale process for Hungary, which was the last remaining business under strategic review.

Adevinta Hungary is a dominant local classifieds operator. Its portfolio includes Használtautó.hu, the #1 Motors marketplace and go-to platform for the sale and purchase of used cars, and Jófogás, one of the leading generalist online classifieds sites in Hungary. In addition, the company operates Autónavigátor, a content site of Használtautó which posts motor reviews and news.

Clairfield led an international sale process which generated offers from global and Hungary-based companies. Throughout the process, it became clear that Ingatlan.com, the leading real estate classifieds platform in Hungary, was the perfect fit — well-positioned to create substantial growth opportunities for their online classifieds business over the long term. Ingatlan.com is convinced that the acquisition of these marketplace assets represents a huge leap forward toward fulfilling its strategic goals and providing exciting opportunities for collaboration with users to benefit from synergies in the Hungarian market for the three biggest classifieds verticals: properties, cars, and consumer goods, all in one place.

“We are pleased to have found the right local buyer in Ingatlan.com, who are extremely experienced in Hungary and well positioned to create strong growth opportunities for their online classifieds business over the long term,” commented Antoine Jouteau, CEO Adevinta. “The completion of the divestiture of our Hungarian marketplaces is another important milestone in the optimisation of our portfolio and the execution of our Growing at Scale strategy, as we continue to focus on our five core markets in Europe. We would like to thank everyone at Jófogás, Használtautó.hu and Autónavigátor for their contributions to the business over the years, as they are now transferring to Ingatlan.com. Adevinta will continue to support the Hungarian business and its employees during the transition, ensuring business continuity for users and customers.”

“We congratulate Ingatlan.com on the acquisition and wish them continued success.” József Keleti, CEO of Ingatlan.com, said: “The transaction is a huge leap forward. We are excited to integrate the talented teams of Jófogás, Használtautó.hu and Autónavigátor with Ingatlan.com and work together on our strategic goals. Our users will benefit from the limitless potential of managing their two biggest wealth assets, properties, and cars, in one place. This is a unique synergy opportunity in the European market. We are grateful for the extraordinary support provided by Adevinta throughout the transaction process.”

“Adevinta’s Hungarian digital assets are pioneers and have a long history. We are delighted to have advised Adevinta in the divesture of the businesses in a highly competitive process. The sale to Ingatlan.com provides a unique synergy and growth opportunity that will benefit the Hungarian consumers,” says Oliver Nemes, managing partner of Clairfield in Hungary.

Read the Adevinta press release here.

Clairfield deal team: Oliver Nemes, Berend Yntema, Kai Burger and George Majlath.