Chinese Property Portal IPO Embraced by U.S. Investors

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Shares in SouFun Holdings Ltd., which runs China's largest online property site, jumped 73 percent on Friday after the company's initial public offering in the United States.

In a shaky season for IPOs, the offering was seen as a success, pricing the company at a bit more than 14 times earnings. Two private equity firms, Connecticut-based General Atlantic and London-based Apax Partners, each announced plans to take a 19 percent stake in the company, a key player in China's fast-growing online property business.

China boasts the largest number of Internet users in the world, according to government data.

"SouFun is a full-scale highly hit website by the Chinese populous," Scott Sweet, senior managing partner at IPO Boutique, told the Financial Times. "It is number one for real estate, having according to Nielsen 46.3 per cent of the advertising marketing for real estate and their niche products."

Australian telecom company Telstra Corp. planned to sell its 50.5 percent stake in the company, which also offers home furnishings on its real estate portal. SouFun, with 63 offices and more than 4,800 employees, "obtained advertisements from 60 percent of online real estate advertisers among real estate information services websites in 2009 in China," according to a press release.

SouFun also made news last year for organizing tours of the United States for Chinese investors interested in buying real estate.

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