CarTrade Tech says it is acquiring entire India biz of classifieds platform OLX

CarTrade Tech had in a stock exchange filing on Monday said it was acquiring 100% of Sobek Auto India Pvt Ltd, the entity that houses OLX India’s auto business.

In a new statement, it said Sobek also consists of the OLX classifieds platform. It added that the acquisition is expected to be completed within the next few weeks.

“In India, OLX is one of the strongest brands in the online classified space with more than 35 million average monthly unique visitors, approximately 30,000 dealers, and 30+ million listings in a year,” Vinay Sanghi, chairman and founder of CarTrade Tech, said in a statement. “We are really excited to acquire such a strong business built by a talented team and with cutting-edge technology.”

As of March 31, 2023, CarTrade Tech – which had raised funds from investors such as Temasek Holdings and Tiger Global prior to its public offering in 2021 – had Rs 1,185 crore cash and cash equivalents on its books on a standalone basis.

OLX is the classifieds unit of Dutch-listed investment firm Prosus. Earlier this year, Prosus had said it was divesting OLX’s automotive business globally on account of weak macroeconomic conditions and rising challenges for the segment.

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Reportedly, Prosus had engaged in discussions with several other players in the used car segment, including Cars24 and Spinny, prior to closing the deal with CarTrade.Through its used-car sales business, OLX Autos enabled the sale and purchase of 50,000 cars last year, CarTrade said in its statement.

Prosus had also said last month it was looking for buyers for OLX classifieds and its used-car listing business. OLX recently shut down operations in some South and Central American countries, while also laying off 800 people.

On Wednesday, shares of CarTrade Tech ended trading 3.3% lower from previous close at Rs 538.15 on the BSE.

The company had earlier said in a stock exchange filing on Monday that Pvt Ltd, the entity that houses OLX India’s auto business, but added in a new statement that Sobek also consists of the OLX classifieds platform.