Carsome Acquires Majority Stake in CarTimes Group

The acquisition will strengthen Carsome's foothold in the Singapore auto market

Teckwai Saw

22 Mar, 2022

Carsome Acquires Majority Stake in CarTimes Group | BEAMSTART News

Malaysia-based online used car platform, Carsome has acquired a 51% stake in Singapore-based used car dealer and parallel importer, CarTimes Group.

Established in 2001, CarTimes Group is an auto company that offers a full suite of auto solutions ranging from retail, rental, insurance, and workshop servicing.

Previous Highlights

Public Bank Bhd and Carsome have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a car financing collaboration on 18 March 2022.
Carsome has completed its acquisition of iCar Asia, an automotive listing platform in Southeast Asia during February 2022.
Carsome raised US$290 million in a Series E funding round during January 2022.

Community Q&A

Key Takeaways from Acquisition

The acquisition came after Carsome's acquisition completion of iCar Asia.
Carsome aims to deepen its footprint in the Singapore auto market with this acquisition, and hopes to provide more options and transparency to customers together.
Moreover, the acquisition also reinforces Carsome's commitment to boost its ecosystem expansion.
According to a private source, the agreed acquisition deal is half in cash and half in shares, estimated at around US$60 million.
On 7 March, regulatory filings show that CarTimes' managing director, Eddie Loo transferred 408,000 ordinary shares of the company to the entity Carsome Group.
Currently, Loo still owns the remaining 49% stake of CarTimes Group.