Exclusive: CarTrade Is Raising INR 321.7 Cr In Series H Round

Update: July 1, 2020
As per the company filings, it has now secured INR 160 Cr in the bank from Highdell, MacRitchie and MCP3 SPV.

Mumbai-based online auto classifieds platform CarTrade is shoring up cash from investors to mitigate some of the Covid-19 impact as well as take on the challenges in the post-lockdown market.

According to the ministry of corporate affairs filings accessed by Inc42, in a resolution on May 22, CarTrade approved an offer to raise INR 321.7 Cr in its Series H funding round. The allotments are at a nominal value of INR 10 with a premium of INR 815.12 per share. Here’s the breakdown of the shares allotted:

• 1,299,075 Series H compulsorily convertible preference shares to MacRitchie Investments
• 1,299,075 Series H compulsorily convertible preference shares to Highdell Investment Ltd
• 1,299,075 Series H compulsorily convertible preference shares to MCP3 SPV LLC

Post-investment, Highdell will hold 34.747% stake, MacRitchie will hold 26.717% stake and MCP3 SPV will hold 2.727% stake in the company.

The company is raising fresh funding to generate long-term resources for working capital, expansion of the financing business and other general corporate purposes. CarTrade is planning an initial public offering (IPO) in 18-24 months to provide an exit option to some of its investors. It also had plans to apply for an NBFC licence to get into auto financing.

Prior to this, the company has raised INR 950 Cr across various funding rounds from investors such as Warburg Pincus, Tiger Global, JP Morgan and March Capital.

Founded in 2010 by Vinay Sanghi, CarTrade is an online auto classifieds platform that provides customers and sellers with a structured interface for buying and selling new and used vehicles. The platform claims to sell over 1 Mn vehicles a year. More than 40 OEMs and 15,000 plus dealers work with the CarTrade Group and it has over 180 owned or franchisee stores.

The company had said in March 2020 that its current gross merchandise value (GMV) is around $3 Bn. It expected to close FY20 with revenue of around INR 425 Cr and a profit of INR 125 Cr. However, it appears that the company missed its target. Cartrade earned INR 137.14 Cr in FY20, with a total expense of INR 128.25 Cr leading to a net profit of INR 8.88 Cr.

Other major online used car marketplaces in India are Quikr, Droom, Cars24, Olx, Mahindra First Choice Wheels, among others.

According to DataLabs by Inc42, India’s auto industry became the fourth largest in the world with sales increasing 9.5% to 4.02 Mn units in 2017 (excluding two-wheelers) and emerged as the seventh-largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles in 2018. In FY19, commercial vehicles recorded the fastest pace of growth in domestic sales at 17.55%.

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