Malaysia-based automotive marketplace operator Carsome received $290m in series E funding today from investors including conglomerates Gokongwei Group, Sunway and YTL Group as the online used car market booms.
Qatar Investment Authority, 65 Equity Partners and SeaTown Private Capital Master Fund – the latter two linked to the Singaporean government-backed Temasek Holdings – co-led the round, which valued the company at $1.7bn post-money.
Semiconductor manufacturer Mediatek and mobile carrier Taiwan Mobile also took part in the round, according to Tech in Asia. Bloomberg had initially reported the deal to be sized at $300m on Friday.
Carsome has built an e-commerce platform that helps users buy and sell second-hand vehicles. It works with more than 8,000 dealers and manages some 100,000 transactions a year across its home country, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.
The company will use the money to increase headcount and improve its products and technology. In addition, part of the funds will help expand its Carsome Certified retail brand in markets including Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.
A source privy to the matter told Bloomberg that Carsome is the most highly valued technology group in Malaysia, adding that it intends to list in an initial public offering in the United States later this year.
Carsome had completed a $170m series D2 round in September 2021 that included MediaTek, internet company Catcha Group, financial services firm Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and brokerage Daiwa Securities, the last two through MUFG Innovation Partners and Daiwa PI Partners respectively.
The series D2 round included $30m in debt financing and was closed at a $1.3bn valuation. It also featured Penjana Kapital, Emissary Capital, Asia Partners, Gobi Partners, 500 Southeast Asia, Ondine Capital and an unnamed local sovereign wealth fund.
Bloomberg reported in November Carsome planned to secure roughly $200m more in pre-IPO funding. It has raised $597m altogether and its earlier backers include Burda Principal Investments, the corporate VC arm of media group Hubert Burda.
Used car trading platforms have increased their activities since the covid-19 pandemic began, with companies raising funding including Singapore-based Carro in December 2021 and UK-headquartered Motorway the month before. CarDekho from India and Mexico’s Kavak are also among the companies with similar services that got corporate backing late last year.
Image courtesy of Carsome.
