CarDekho.com acquires TIL's Zigwheels.com

The acquisition follows Times Internet investing in Girnar Software, owners of auto portals CarDekho.com and Gaadi.com

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | October 26, 2015

Times Internet is now an investor in Girnar Software, alongside Sequoia Capital, Hillhouse, Tybourne, Ratan Tata and HDFC Bank. With a combined traffic of Girnar Software Group's automotive properties (CarDekho.com, Gaadi.com, Zigwheels.com, BikeDekho.com, TyreDekho.com) of close to 30 million monthly visitors, this transaction consolidates its leadership as India's #1 automotive destination for consumers, dealers, OEMs and other industry stakeholders.

Zigwheels.com will operate independently as a separate business within the Girnar Software umbrella and will exploit powerful cross-synergies with other platforms and resources within the Girnar Group.

Commenting on the acquisition, Amit Jain, Founder and CEO of Girnar Software, said, “Having been a part of India's leading and most respected media group, Zigwheels.com comes with a very strong content pedigree. This strategic acquisition reinforces our commitment to further enrich our content to enable us to engage even more deeply with our consumers. This also takes our market leadership to the next level in the digital auto vertical across visitors, dealer base and revenues”.

“We are delighted to welcome Times as a new investor in our company and look forward to their support as we continue our journey and further consolidate our leadership in the online auto space,” added Jain.

Satyan Gajwani

Satyan Gajwani, CEO of Times Internet, said, “We see tremendous growth and value creation opportunities in the online auto industry in India and overseas. Girnar Software, as the leader in this space, is best positioned to take advantage of this opportunity. We are excited to be partnering with an exceptional management team which has built great value and we are confident we will continue to blaze trails in the years to come.”

This is Girnar Software's second major acquisition. Last September, it acquired the Nasper Group-owned Gaadi.com, to become the leader in the digital used car segment and strengthen its management team. Cardekho.com has been the consistent leader in the new car segment in India.

The core business model of Girnar Software is earnings from lead generation for new and used cars, media sales on their portals, as well as monetising the lifecycle of a car owner via the CarBuddy app. The group boasts of more than 5,000 new and used car dealer tie-ups across the country, the largest among auto portals.

On the back of its strong products and experience of building India's market leading auto destination, Girnar Software is also expanding aggressively across SE Asia, Africa, Middle East and  South America to create the largest such business across emerging markets.

The Rainmaker Group (TRMG) acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Girnar Software for this transaction.

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