Korea: Proptech startup Dongnae, which provides apartment rental management services, has revealed plans to acquire Stevens, a South Korean company which operates the coliving business Dears.
Dongnae’s core product, Dongnae FLEX, provides furnished apartment rental services including flexible lease terms ranging from four weeks to yearly options. The company is based in Seoul.
The acquisition marks the first for Dongnae and is expected to complete at the end of September. Whilst the price was not disclosed, Dongnae said it will purchase Stevens with a mix of cash and equity.
The addition of Dears to Dongnae’s portfolio will build on the FLEX service and expand the company’s assets under management to more than $400 million.
Dears’ properties are located throughout Seoul and Pangyo across 90 apartment complexes, with Pangyo accounting for more than 520 studio flats. Dongnae will also manage the commercial spaces at Dears Myeongdong in Seoul alongside Xi S&D which will operate the building’s 112 apartments.
The current leadership team at Stevens will join Dongnae to support the company’s growth.
Dongnae was founded in 2020 by former WeWork executives Matthew Shampine and Insong Kim. The company secured Series A funding of $21 million in March 2022, bringing its total funding to approximately $34 million.
Since the Series A, Dongnae has invested in digitising the leasing process and launched its own digital real estate consultant called Suzie. Suzie, powered by artificial intelligence, is a chatbot which answers prospective residents’ questions in any spoken language.
