Online real-estate giant Auction.com today said it landed a $50 million investment from Google Capital. “This will give us an opportunity to tap into Google’s deep expertise in digital marketing and mobile, as well as in building world-class products,” Auction CEO Jeff Frieden said in a statement. As part of the investment, a representative from Google Capital will join Auction’s board and another will take a board observer position.
Fresh off its public debut last week, Google Capital is putting more money to work this week with the announcement of a $50 million investment in real estate marketplace Auction.com.The valuation of the company post-money is $1.2 billion, and a representative from Google Capital will join the company’s Board of directors and another will take a board observer position. Similar to other real estate marketplaces, Auction.com connects buyers and sellers of real estate. And the company has sold $26 billion of property since inception. What differentiates Auction.com is that the real estate transaction actually happens online. It’s been described as an “eBay for real estate.” Financing options remain the same as in the offline world (it happens via a bank). Similar to eBay, the highest bidder wins on these auctions.