Southeast Asian used car trading platform Carsome Group announced on Wednesday the close of its $170 million Series D2 round of funding, bringing the company’s valuation to $1.3 billion and cementing its position as Malaysia’s largest tech unicorn.
This is complemented by new credit facilities of $30 million, bringing total funds raised to $200 million, Carsome said in a statement.
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 and MediaTek as well as strong participation from existing shareholders including Asia Partners, Gobi Partners, 500 Southeast Asia, Ondine Capital, MUFG Innovation Partners, Daiwa PI Partners, among others. Rothschild & Co acted as the financial advisor to Carsome for the deal.
According to Carsome Co-founder and Group CEO Eric Cheng, the latest funding round enables the company to accelerate its organic growth in the retail and auto-financing business.
“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’s latest funding round came after it announced in July it plans to acquire listings and content automotive platform iCar Asia to create the largest automotive marketplace in Southeast Asia. The deal also turned Carsome into Malaysia’s first tech unicorn.
Carsome’s latest funding round will empower its strategic focus on the growth and expansion of its business-to-consumer (B2C) business. This year alone, Carsome has opened at least seven B2C retail centers 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.
The funding injection also strengthens Carsome’s offering in auto-financing for car buyers and used car dealers. Carsome has recently launched auto-financing for graduates who typically face challenges in obtaining loan approvals from conventional banks.
Carsome’s Series D2 funding is also expected to boost its capabilities in strategic investments and 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 listings and content automotive platform iCar Asia to build the largest automotive ecosystem in Southeast Asia, with more transactions expected over the next six months.
Carsome transacts more than 100,000 cars on an annualized basis, which translates to around $1 billion in revenue.
The company provides end-to-end solutions to consumers and used car dealers, from car inspection to ownership transfer to financing, promising a service that is trusted, convenient and efficient. Carsome currently transacts around 100,000 cars annually and has more than 1,700 employees across all its offices.