CarDekho in talks to raise $100-150 million

The company is in talks with investors to raise $100-150 million in a largely secondary round where early investors will clock in full or partial exits, the people said. The company has hired homegrown investment bank The Rainmaker Group to help it with the process, the people added.

“The round is largely secondary as some early investors want to cash out and the promoters want to realign the cap-table ahead of the public listing,” the first person said on the condition of anonymity. “The company is now being valued at around $1.3 billion.”

This is a shade higher than the $1.2 billion it was last valued at in October 2021 when it raised $250 million in a mix of primary and secondary funding round. In that round, investors led by Leapfrog Investments, alongside Canyon Partners, Mirae Asset, Harbor Spring Capital and existing investors Sequoia Capital India and Sunley House invested in CarDekho.

However, the company may also raise some primary capital as part of the current round “depending on investor interest”, the second person said, also on the condition of anonymity.

According to the people, CarDekho, owned by Girnar Software, has seen significant investor interest after it focused on stronger unit economics and swung into the black, with an Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) margin of around 8-10% for the three quarters ending 31 December 2023.

Spokespersons for CarDekho Group and The Rainmaker Group did not respond to Mint’s queries till press time.

Founded in 2008 by siblings Amit Jain and Anurag Jain, CarDekho started off by selling used vehicles on its platform, but pivoted to financing of vehicles (the reselling business has been brought down to near-zero in 2023-24). The company has invested $100 million in its fintech subsidiary Rupyy to scale up the NBFC business.

The group also forayed into insurance with another subsidiary, InsuranceDekho. According to industry sources, the company currently has more than 14,000 dealers registered with it across 1,500 locations and disburses more than $1.5 billion in loans annually.

In FY23, the company’s used-vehicle marketplace saw a 46% jump in its consolidated revenues to ₹2,331 crore from ₹1,600 crore in 2021-22. “The company has seen a 40-50% growth in 2023-24,” the third person said.

Jaipur-based CarDekho is also aggressively looking to buy other companies to bolster its bouquet of offerings. In December 2023, it acquired shared mobility startup Revv.

“The company has more than $100 million cash on its balance sheet and will use it opportunistically to grow inorganically,” the third person added.

The company competes with peers such as listed firm CarTrade, Spinny and Cars24.