Zoomcar Eyes US Listing In Q4 2023 Through SPAC Deal

Bengaluru-based car rental platform Zoomcar is eyeing a listing on the American stock exchange Nasdaq in the ongoing quarter through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) deal.

It must be noted that Zoomcar last year inked a merger pact worth $456 Mn with SPAC, or blank check firm, Innovative International Acquisition Corp (IOAC) to list in the US. 

The IOAC, in a release on Tuesday (October 3), said its registration statement on Form S-4, initially filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on February 7, 2023, has been declared effective by the SEC. 

As per the SEC’s regulations, Form S-4 is to be filed by publicly traded companies to register information about a merger or acquisition. Meanwhile, a blank check firm is a publicly traded company which has no business plan and is formed to raise funds through an initial public offering (IPO) by acquiring or merging with an existing company.

The IOAC said that following the SEC’s nod, it has scheduled an extraordinary general meeting of its shareholders on October 25 to seek approval and adoption of the merger agreement among the IOAC, Zoomcar and the other parties, and other related matters pertaining to the merger. 

“Upon closing of the transaction, (the) IOAC is expected to transfer by way of continuation out of the Cayman Islands and into the State of Delaware and be renamed Zoomcar Holdings, Inc., and will continue to operate under the Zoomcar management team, led by Greg Moran, cofounder and CEO of Zoomcar,” the statement said.

The combined company is expected to be listed on Nasdaq in the fourth quarter of 2023, it added.

Commenting on the development, Moran said, “We’re thrilled to announce this important milestone in our ongoing partnership with the IOAC team and we look forward to continuing the buildout of our peer2peer car sharing platform across our core emerging market geographies.”

On listing, Zoomcar will join Indian companies like MakeMyTrip, Freshworks and Yatra Online which are listed in the US.

Founded in 2013 by Moran and David Back (who exited the startup in 2015), Zoomcar has raised a total funding of over $290 Mn till date. It is backed by the likes of SternAegis Ventures, NKM Capital, and Sony Innovation Fund.

The company competes with the likes of Revv and IndusGo in the Indian market. Besides India, Zoomcar also operates in Indonesia and Egypt. 

Zoomcar’s Indian entity, Zoomcar India Private Limited , narrowed its loss nearly 54% to INR 74 Cr in FY22 from INR 160 Cr in FY21, while its operating revenue rose 1.2X to INR 95 Cr from INR 76.6 Cr in the previous fiscal year.