CarDekho Eyes $500 Mn IPO Next Year

Auto marketplace CarDekho is reportedly in advanced talks to appoint merchant bankers to helm its initial public offering (IPO) next year.

CarDekho could appoint bankers for the public issue as early as next week, Livemint reported citing a source. 

The startup plans to file its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) in March 2025 and is looking to raise nearly $500 Mn (about INR 4,100 Cr), including a “primary component”, at a valuation of $2 Bn to $2.5 Bn.

“The net proceeds from the public offering will be used to fund CarDekho’s geographical and category expansion and also for future acquisitions to expand its portfolio of services,” a source was quoted as saying. 

As per the report, the auto marketplace’s early backers, including Peak XV, Google Capital, and Hillhouse Capital, plan to offload a part of their stakes via the offer for sale (OFS). 

Inc42 has reached out to CarDekho for a comment on the development. The story will be updated on receiving a response. 

Founded in 2008 by Amit Jain and Anurag Jain, CarDekho operates an app-based car listing platform. It also operates insurance platform InsuranceDekho and lending platform Rupyy. 

CarDekho has raised more than $692 Mn in funding to date and competes with the likes of CarTrade, Spinny and Cars24. It was last valued at $1.2 Bn in 2021, when it raised a $250 Mn round in a mix of primary and secondary funding. 

The potential $2 Bn to $2.5 Bn would value it at nearly double the valuation of its last round. 

However, this is not the first time that CarDekho is planning to list on the bourses. In 2021, it was said to be mulling listing on the bourses but it didn’t materialise then. 

Earlier this year, CarDekho appointed former Mensa Brands and Pepperfry executive Neelesh Talathi as its group chief financial officer to helm the potential IPO.

In January, cofounder and CEO Amit Jain was quoted as saying that CarTrade would target at least four to six quarters of profitability before listing on the bourses. A source told Livemint that CarDekho is already “profitable at the group level”.

CarDekho Group clocked an operating revenue of INR 2,331 Cr in the fiscal year 2022-23 (FY23), up 1.5X from INR 1,600 Cr in the previous fiscal. Meanwhile, loss jumped marginally to INR 562 Cr during the period under review from INR 535 Cr in FY22.

CarDekho’s IPO plans come at a time when Indian startups are lining up in droves to list on the bourses. As many as 10 new-age tech companies, including Go Digit, FirstCry, Ola Electric, Awfis, among others, have gone public so far this year.