Malaysia has a new unicorn in the form of Carsome, the vehicle trading platform that has spanned operation in Southeast Asia has just closed a US$170 million Series D2 round of funding, bringing the company’s valuation to US$1.3 billion, an amazing feat for a young startup indeed.
This will also cement the company’s position as Malaysia’s largest tech unicorn complemented by new credit facilities of US$30 million, bringing total funds raised to US$200 million.
The Series D2 round, the largest equity investment in Carsome’s history, saw participation from one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the region and a pool of new international investors such as Catcha Group, MediaTek and Penjana Kapital, as well as strong participation from existing shareholders including Asia Partners, Gobi Partners, 500 Southeast Asia, Ondine Capital, MUFG Innovation Partners, Daiwa PI Partners and others. Rothschild & Co acted as the financial advisor to Carsome for the deal.
Group CEO Eric Cheng says the latest funding round will enable the company to accelerate its organic growth in the retail and auto-financing business. “We are deeply honored and encouraged by the confidence and support accorded by our investors. We are geared up to achieve even greater heights while rolling out Southeast Asia’s integrated car e-commerce platform, now further solidified by various strengths within the ecosystem,” Cheng added.
Carsome which transacts more than 100,000 cars on an annualized basis translating to around US$1 billion in revenue will be using the latest funding to focus on the growth and expansion of its business-to-consumer (B2C) business. This year alone, it opened seven B2C retail center across Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, with several more in the pipeline for the rest of the year. The company has also opened its first vehicle reconditioning center in Malaysia to add to its array of retail services.
The funding injection will be used for among others for auto-financing for car buyers and used car dealers. On top of its numerous financing products and recently launched auto-financing for graduates.
Apart from using the funds for internal expansion, the funding will also go into potential strategic investments in mergers and acquisitions. This year, the company has acquired an all-equity stake in PT Universal Collection, a Jakarta-based car and motorcycle auction service, as well as entered a strategic partnership with leading listings and content automotive platform iCar Asia.
