Deals Buzz: China’s Autohome looks to back CarDekho at $700 million valuation

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China’s Autohome looks to back CarDekho at $700 mn valuation

Online car marketplace CarDekho is in talks to raise $100 million in a Series D round, led by Chinese strategic investor Autohome Inc., valuing it at $700 million, Mint reported citing two people close to the deal. Existing investor Sequoia Capital is also expected to invest from its $8 billion global growth fund. This round is mainly being put together for the strategic investor to come in, with Autohome putting in $70 million. Tybourne Capital, a Hong Kong-based hedge fund, is also a common investor in both Autohome and CarDekho. Autohome claims to be the leading online destination for automobile consumers in China. CarDekho is not the only online car retailer that is drawing investor interest. Mint reported on 2 October that online used car retailer Spinny is in talks to raise $35 million in a funding round led by Fundamentum, a fund set up by Nandan Nilekani and former Helion Ventures partner Sanjeev Aggarwal, along with existing investors—Accel Partners, SAIF Partners and Blume Ventures. Also, Cars24, which sells used cars to dealers, is currently raising its Series D round. It has already raised $52 million as part of the round, from Dubai-based cargo company KCK FZE and existing backer Kingsway FCI. Sequoia is an investor in Cars24 as well.

Investcorp leads funding round in fashion retailer Bewakoof

Global alternative asset manager Investcorp has led an investment of about ₹80 crore in online fashion retailer Bewakoof.com, Mint reported. Investcorp provided nearly 90% of funding in the latest round and would hold around 14% in Bewakoof.com, along with a seat on the board. Founded in 2011 by Prabhkiran Singh and Siddharth Munot, Bewakoof.com is a direct-to-consumer online fashion retailer that focuses mainly on theme-based T-shirts for young Indians. It has also branched out into other categories over the years, including hoodies and sweaters, joggers, pants and trousers, footwear, mobile covers, notebooks and backpacks. The firm sells most of its merchandise through its website and mobile application.

SoftBank urges portfolio firms to focus on profitability first, IPOs later

Humbled by recent experiences with its two major bets—Uber and WeWork—SoftBank chief executive Masayoshi Son is urging global and Indian companies in his portfolio to sharpen their focus on earning profits before venturing into the path of initial public offerings (IPOs), Mint reported. SoftBank’s portfolio firm WeWork, an office leasing company withdrew its IPO filing on 30 September. Another portfolio company, Uber, saw a tepid debut on the New York Stock Exchange. The ride-hailing company, which saw a private valuation of as much as $76 billion before its public offering in May, has a market value of nearly $49 billion now. The change in investment strategy of Son’s Vision Fund 2 is already being felt by portfolio companies in India. In mid-September, for instance, when Ritesh Agarwal, founder of India’s second-most valued unicorn Oyo, met Son, the message was to return to the drawing board and focus on scale and profitability. In July, Mint reported that Oyo Hotels and Homes, is preparing for an IPO in the next two-three years. ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd, the operator of ride-hailing service Ola, and one of the major Indian companies in Son’s portfolio, plans to go public in less than two years after meeting profitability goals required for such a listing in India.

Altico may offer to sell its assets

Altico Capital is likely to present to its lenders a resolution plan this week that could involve selling some of its biggest loan assets, such as Skylark in Bengaluru, Casa Grande in Chennai and Marvel in Pune. Besides the proposal to sell these upscale mixed-use projects, the stressed financier may also offer to bring in equity from an alternative set of investors, The Economic Times reported citing two people aware of the plans. Altico is also likely to tell its lenders that the assets it has financed are worth more than double the outstanding liabilities. That is sufficient cover to repay all the existing loans, Altico could argue, seeking more time to execute the relevant transactions and sell assets at close to their fair values. Altico’s asset sales could immediately fetch at least ₹2,000 crore. Its total outstanding debt stands at ₹4,361.5 crore. There are about two-dozen lenders, including State Bank of India, HDFC Bank and Yes Bank. In its last few meetings with the lenders, Altico has said that recalling loans at this juncture would only aggravate the situation. Instead, orderly unwinding of assets would help lenders recover their advances in full, making it attractive for fresh equity investments. Altico last month defaulted on interest payments of ₹19.97 crore, causing its liquidity position to worsen. SSG Capital, Brookfield, Cerberus, and Apollo Global are among private equity investors keen on a stake in the company, while Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Clearwater Capital and Varde will likely remain sponsors of the property-focused financier.