Exclusive: Cars24 raises $52 Mn in ongoing Series D round

Hybrid used car space (a combination of online and offline) has been going through a cut-throat competition with multiple players eying to capture market share through different business models. 

Cars24, OLX (via Cash My Car) and CarDekho along with its portfolio Gaadi, has a similar model. As a result, the trio fiercely competes against each other and require to keep raising capital.

Almost after ten months of CarDekho Series C round, Cars24 has raised $52 million in what appears to be ongoing Series D round.

Dubai-based cargo company KCK FZE has invested around $25 million while existing investor Kingsway FCI invested $10 million in the Series D round, reveals filings made by Cars24’s parent entity - Global Cars Group Pte Ltd in Singapore. 

Sequoia India, which is an early backer of the Gurugram-based firm, invested $5 million in the round. Chicago-based global asset management and investment services firm Euler Capital invested $4.63 million.

According to the filings, New York-based Exor Seeds and Freemark holdings have put in $3 million each. Scott Bankcraft Kapnick has poured in about $1.4 million in the Vikram Chopra-led firm.

Kapnick is the CEO at Highbridge Capital Management LLC and HPS Investment Partners LLC. Besides, a couple of individuals also contributed in the round. 

Cars24 has also filed, a resolution via RoC with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), raising Rs 309 crore fresh investments from the holding entity. It essentially means that the $52 million worth first tranche of the Series D round has already been poured into the operational entity in India.

Meanwhile, two Entrackr sources outlined that the ongoing round is likely to be closed between $90 to 100 million. “Shravin Bharti Mittal (Son of Sunil Bharti Mittal) may participate in the Series D round with a sizeable cheque,” said sources on condition of anonymity. 

Mittal might invest up to $35 million in the ongoing round. Entrackr couldn’t verify his participation in Cars24 Series D round independently.  

We have sent queries to Mittal via London-based VC firm Unbound. According to his LinkedIn profile, he’s the founder and CEO of Unbound.

The new round for cars24 has come after 15 months of its previous round. The company had raised about $50 million from 16 investors, including Apoletto Asia, Venture Highway and others. Entrackr had exclusively reported the investment round in June last year. 

It's worth noting that Cars24 had fired over 400 people in several tranches between May and July this year. The firm competes with OLX and CarDekho’s Gaadi, which recently ventured into the used car segment, a model akin to Cars24's core premise (enabling dealers to buy a car from the owner).

Spinny and Droom are other notable startups operating in the used car segment through different business models.

With inputs from Gaurav Tyagi.