CarDekho acquires Zigwheels, competition heats up
CarDekho, the online auto classifieds space is all set to acquire Zigwheels, the Times Internet owned auto portal. The exact financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. The united entity of CarDekho, Gaadi.com, and Zigwheels were pegged against bigger players Cartrade.com and Carwale.com. Players like Quikr and Olx could also prove tough competition in coming years.
CarDekho was started by brothers Amit and Anurag Jain (both IIT-Delhi alumni) after a visit to the Delhi Auto Expo in 2008. It is an online marketplace for people to purchase and sell "used as well as new cars." The site also provided data on car insurance and finance. CarDekho also partnered with car manufacturers following a multiple-revenue model.
CarDekho was started by Amit Jain with his brother in a garage in Bengaluru with two laptops in 2007.
CarDekho acquired another automobile site, Naspers Group-owned Gaadi.com for an undisclosed sum. After the acquisition, both the firms which focus on used (gaadi.com) and new (CarDekho) cars will continue to run as separate entities. The company CarDekho that also runs BikeDekho.com and PriceDekho.com said that the present acquisition was an integral part to its expansion strategy.
CarDekho.com owned by Jaipur-based Girnar Software Pvt Ltd accumulated $50 million (around Rs.307 crore) in the Series B round funding. The funds came from Hillhouse Capital, Chinese investment management firm and Hong Kong-based Tybourne Capital. The existing investor Sequoia Capital also participated in the round. The company said the funds would be used for brand building and marketing and innovating the mobile app.
After the Hillhouse investment, CarDekho was valued at $300 million.
Mr. Ratan Tata, revered ex-Chairman of the Tata Sons conglomerate announced his plans to invest in the Indian Auto space CarDekho.com The company's founders said that Mr. Ratan Tata's involvement was a boost considering his contribution to the automobile industry. CarDekho.com's revenue saw a three-fold jump since 2013 after the company got series A funding of $15 million from Sequoia Capital.
