ETC (formerly Edmund Tie) and OrangeTee Group announced on February 24 that they will merge to form a new holding company, whose name has yet to be revealed. According to ETC CEO Desmond Sim, this is a “meeting of minds” and not an acquisition.
Sim will serve as CEO of ETC and group CEO of the merged entity, while OrangeTee’s current CEO Justin Quek will be the deputy group CEO. The merger will see ETC focus on consultancy and advisory services, while OrangeTee will concentrate on proptech and its real estate agency business with support from their network of 2,803 registered salespersons from the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA).
The combined entity, which will have over 520 staff and 2,803 salespersons, aims to drive growth, create value for stakeholders, and achieve scale in today’s dynamic real estate landscape. This merger builds on the 2017 joint venture between the two companies, when they merged their associates’ business under the entity OrangeTee & Tie and became the third top agency in Singapore.
The latest merger was facilitated by Triplestar Holdings and TH Investments, entities related to the family of Roland Ng, managing director and group CEO of Tat Hong Holdings. Triplestar and TH Investments hold a 100% stake in ETC as a result of a management buyout in 2016. This year also marks ETC’s 30th anniversary.
OrangeTee Group, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary this year, is an investment holding company with a board of directors and C-suite consisting of Quek, Marcus Oh, Teo Yak Huat, and Christine Sun. They are backed by stakeholders Tokyu Livable Inc., a subsidiary of Japan’s real estate giant Tokyu Group, and private property fund Vogue Capital Group.
ETC and OrangeTee Group’s stakeholder Tokyu Livable will also have a stake in the new holding company, along with Triplestar and TH Investments. ETC’s presence in Malaysia through its joint venture company Nawawi Tie and associate office in Thailand, Edmund Tie & Co (Thailand), will present more opportunities for growth in the ASEAN region and Japan.