Shriram Automall India Ltd (SAMIL), which runs a vehicle exchange platform, has acquired online car selling portal BlueJack with the aim to be the largest player in the used car segment.
Shriram Automall, which was acquired by CarTrade and Carwale operator MXC Solutions India Pvt. Ltd in January 2018, said the acquisition will help to boost its offline auction market position with used car sales in the online segment, the company said in a statement.
The New Delhi-based company will seek to target over 12 lakh vehicle transactions worth over Rs 30,000 crore a year with the help of the acquisition, it added.
The acquisition is expected to be completed by the first half of this year. The two firms did not disclose the financial details of the transaction.
Technology-focussed firm IEG – Investment Banking Group acted as the advisor to BlueJack for the acquisition.
VCCircle has reached out to Shriram Automall on the details of the acquisition and will update this report accordingly.
Sameer Malhotra, chief executive officer at Shriram Automall, said the two companies would leverage each other’s presence and capabilities to offer the best auction experience for the Indian market.
BlueJack, operated by Four Wheel Group India Pvt. Ltd, was founded in 2016. In April 2018, VCCircle exclusively reported that investment firm WaterBridge Ventures was set to lead a Rs 6.4 crore (around $923,000) pre-Series A funding round in BlueJack.
Before that, in October 2017, Delhi-based BlueJack had raised Rs 1.6 crore from a group of investors, including Quintillion Media Pvt. Ltd, which runs an online news portal The Quint. The company has competed with the likes of Droom and CarDekho.
Shriram Automall, meanwhile, provided a platform for selling trucks, buses and other commercial vehicles. It also provides for the refurbishment of pre-owned vehicles apart from running online truck bazaars and other related services.
In January 2018, MXC Solutions India agreed to buy the Shriram Group-owned unit for a sum of Rs 156.4 crore (around $24.5 million). In a stock exchange filing at the time, Shriram Transport Finance Company Ltd said it would sell 16.6 million shares of SAMIL to the CarTrade operator for Rs 94.03 apiece.
Apart from Shriram Automall, and now BlueJack, CarTrade also acquired Carwale in 2015. In May 2017, CarTrade had acquired vehicle inspection firm Adroit Technical Services Pvt. Ltd. MXC Solutions is backed by investors such as Warburg Pincus, March Venture Capital and Trident Capital.
