ETC and OrangeTee Group, two prominent real estate firms, joined forces on Feb 24 to announce their merger and the formation of a new holding company. The name of the new company has not yet been released.
According to Desmond Sim, CEO of ETC, the merger is not an acquisition but a collaboration between two like-minded entities. Sim, who will serve as the group CEO of the merged entity, will also retain his role as CEO of ETC. Meanwhile, Justin Quek, the current CEO of OrangeTee & Tie, will become the deputy group CEO of the new holding company.
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Post-merger, ETC will focus primarily on consultancy and advisory services, while OrangeTee will concentrate on proptech and its real estate agency business. OrangeTee currently has a network of 2,803 salespersons registered with the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA).
The combined entity will have over 520 staff members, in addition to the 2,803 salespersons. According to Sim, the merging of expertise, resources, and networks will drive meaningful growth and create value for stakeholders in today’s dynamic real estate landscape.
This latest merger builds upon the successful joint venture in August 2017, when the former Edmund Tie and OrangeTee merged their associates’ business under the new entity, OrangeTee & Tie. At the time, the combined entity had a sales force of over 4,000 agents, propelling it to the third spot among the top three agencies. After the joint venture, the former Edmund Tie acquired a 20% stake in OrangeTee & Tie.
The merger between ETC and OrangeTee was made possible by Triplestar Holdings and TH Investments, both related to the family of Roland Ng, managing director and group CEO of Tat Hong Holdings. These entities acquired a stake in ETC following a management buyout in 2016. When some of the original shareholders, including Edmund Tie, retired, the company bought back their shares, increasing Triplestar and TH Investments’ stake to approximately 60%. Today, these two entities own a 100% stake in ETC.
This year marks a significant milestone for ETC, as it celebrates its 30th anniversary, according to Sim. The company recently rebranded itself as ETC.
OrangeTee Group will also be celebrating a milestone this year, as it marks its 25th anniversary since its incorporation in 2000. Led by its board of directors and supported by its C-suites, OrangeTee Group includes Justin Quek, CEO of OrangeTee & Tie, Marcus Oh, managing director of OrangeTee Advisory, Teo Yak Huat, CFO, and Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist.
Quek says the strengthened brokerage and consultancy team, along with advanced proptech, will enable them to deliver innovative and seamless solutions across all real estate sectors.
Stakeholders in OrangeTee Group include Tokyu Livable Inc., which acquired a 22.5% stake in the company in 2014. Tokyu Livable is one of Japan’s largest real estate agencies, with 198 offices nationwide. It is a subsidiary of Tokyu Fudosan Holdings, the real estate business of giant conglomerate Tokyu Group.
Private property fund Vogue Capital Group is also a shareholder in OrangeTee Group, and both Vogue Capital and Tokyu Livable will have a stake in the new holding company post-merger along with Ng’s Triplestar Holdings and TH Investments.
ETC has already established a presence in Malaysia through its joint venture company, Nawawi Tie. The firm also has an associate in Thailand, Edmund Tie & Co (Thailand). According to Sim, this merger will open up more opportunities in the ASEAN region and Japan, especially through their relationship with Tokyu Livable.