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Exclusive: Spinny set to acquire GoMechanic after its turnaround

EntrackrEntrackr · 4d ago
Exclusive: Spinny set to acquire GoMechanic after its turnaround
Medial

Exclusive: Spinny set to acquire GoMechanic after its turnaround Spinny is set to acquire car servicing platform GoMechanic from the consortium that currently owns and operates it, according to two sources aware of the discussions. This will be one of the notable consolidations in the used-car and auto services segment in the past few years. This will be the Accel-backed firm’s fourth acquisition after Truebil, Scouto and Autocar-operator Haymarket’s automotive titles in India. “The terms of the deal have been finalised, and it is expected to close by the end of this month,” said one of the sources requesting anonymity. “Discussions have been underway for the past two months, and Spinny issued the term sheet in the last week of October.” Sources indicated that the deal would primarily be a cash transaction. Entrackr could not ascertain the deal size. The deal will pave Spinny’s entry into the largely unorganised vehicle service and maintenance space. “It’s a natural extension for Spinny and a way to engage and monetise customers even after selling cars through the platform,” said the source quoted above. GoMechanic is owned and operated by a consortium including Hero Group, Lifelong Group, Stride Ventures, and others. It runs a garage network across 150 cities in India, partnering with independent workshops to provide standardized car services with e-booking and transparent pricing. It’s worth noting that GoMechanic was embroiled in corporate governance issues, including financial irregularities, which led to its acquisition by a consortium led by Lifelong Group in May 2023. In November 2023, the company raised $6 million at a $20 million valuation, followed by a $9 million tranche last month from Hero Enterprises and others, according to its regulatory filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC). After the takeover, the consortium replaced GoMechanic’s founding team, restructured operations, and rebuilt the company into a scaled car service platform. Sources added that GoMechanic has turned around its business in the past two years. “The firm currently clocks an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of around Rs 350 crore and is near break-even,” said the second source. The episode shows that sound governance and disciplined execution are crucial to stabilizing a business, proving that with the right leadership and focus, even struggling startups can recover. According to TheKredible, the Gurugram-based startup reported revenue of Rs 4,657 crore in FY25, reducing its losses by 28% compared to the previous year. In March, Spinny acquired Haymarket SAC’s automotive publications in India. The Niraj Singh-led company had earlier taken over connected car startup Scouto in February 2022 and used-car platform Truebil in August 2020. With Autocar and GoMechanic now under its fold, Spinny appears to have integrated the entire value chain from content and discovery to transaction and ownership. This move positions the company to cover the entire car ownership journey through one platform.

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Exclusive: Spinny in talks to mop up over $100 Mn in internal round

EntrackrEntrackr · 9m ago
Exclusive: Spinny in talks to mop up over $100 Mn in internal round
Medial

Exclusive: Spinny in talks to mop up over $100 Mn in internal round Tiger Global-backed Spinny is in talks to raise over $100 million in a new round mostly financed by existing investors, said three sources aware of the contours of the deal. Used car platform Spinny is preparing for a new round almost after a gap of over three years. The Tiger Global-backed company is in talks to raise over $100 million in a new round mostly financed by existing investors, said three sources aware of the contours of the deal. “Spinny could raise up to $120 million from internal investors including Elevation Capital, Abu Dhabi Growth Fund, General Catalyst and Accel among others,” said one of the sources on condition of anonymity. Sources assert that the talks are in an early stage and it may take a quarter to materialize. If the deal gets through, Spinny would be the first used car platform to raise a new round since late 2021. As per sources, its valuation more or less remains unchanged in the potential round. Market analysts point out that Spinny has emerged as a clear leader with a large delta in the used car retail space as the company appears to have cracked demand first transaction model. It has achieved this on the back of one of the lowest consumer acquisition costs and better gross margin. The Gurugram-based company also scaling auction-based verticals for dealers and car-financing businesses. Most of the money from the new round is likely to be deployed to grow the lending biz, said sources. “Spinny sells close to 7,000 cars every month with an average transaction size of around 6 lakhs. It also sells around 5000 more cars every month on its B2B auction platform,” said the source mentioned above. Queries sent to Spinny, Accel, Elevation and General Catalyst did not elicit an immediate response. According to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, Spinny has raised around $500 million to date. Tiger Global and Accel are its largest stakeholders with 14.25% and 13.25% holding respectively. For the fiscal year ended in March 2024, Spinny’s revenue from operations increased to Rs 3,725.02 crore from Rs 3,259.78 crore in FY23​. During the period, its losses reduced by 28% to Rs 590.37 crore.

Exclusive: Apollo Tyres shuts down car service platform Trumigo within 6 months

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Exclusive: Apollo Tyres shuts down car service platform Trumigo within 6 months
Medial

Multinational tyre manufacturing company Apollo Tyres has shut down its doorstep car service initiative, Trumigo, sources told Entrackr. Significantly, the platform has discontinued its services within six months of its launch. As per sources, the company failed to find traction and compete with other alternatives available in the market. “Trumigo has laid off nearly 100 employees (including 75 ground staff) in the process. It did not provide severance pay to the entire ground staff and several full time employees,” said a source on the condition of anonymity. Launched in February, Trumigo used to provide car maintenance services directly to a customer’s doorstep. Initially, it was launched for Gurugram with plans to expand to cover the entire Delhi (NCR) region. Trumigo’s website isn’t working for a while, point out sources. It has also been throwing error messages for the past three days. Several former employees also hinted at financial irregularities in the company which are currently being audited. Entrackr couldn’t verify these claims independently. Queries sent to Trumigo’s chief executive, head of product, CHRO and Apollo Tyres’ group head did not elicit any response until the publication of the story. We’ll update the post as and when they respond. Trumigo is the second company from the car servicing space to go down after GoMechanic which also had gone through a forensic audit. After establishment of financial irregularities and inflated revenue, several investors including Peak XV wrote off their investment in the firm. GoMechanic was eventually acquired by Lifelong Group’s Servizzy in a distress sale. GoMechanic, which was once seeking a billion dollar valuation, recently raised $6 million from a group of investors at a valuation of $20 million.

Exclusive: WestBridge to join Spinny’s ongoing round with $35-40 Mn

EntrackrEntrackr · 5m ago
Exclusive: WestBridge to join Spinny’s ongoing round with $35-40 Mn
Medial

Used car platform Spinny has expanded its ongoing funding round to $170 million with new backing from WestBridge Capital, according to two sources familiar with the matter. “WestBridge has joined the round with $35–40 million in primary capital, which will push the total fundraise to around $170 million,” said one of the sources, requesting anonymity. The investment follows Entrackr’s earlier report from May, which said that Spinny is raising $131 million led by the US-based Accel Leaders Fund. According to the sources, the valuation of the Niraj Singh-led company remained flat at $1.5–1.7 billion. The Gurugram-based firm became a unicorn in July 2021 with a valuation of $1.8 billion. So far, Spinny has raised more than $500 million from investors including Tiger Global, Elevation Capital, General Catalyst, and Fundamentum, among others. In December 2021, the company also roped in cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar as a strategic investor and brand ambassador. The firm enables both the buying and selling of quality used cars through a full-stack retail model. It manages the entire supply chain, including vehicle inspection, refurbishment, documentation, and financing. According to industry estimates, Spinny sells nearly 11,000 cars each month through its retail and B2B auction platforms. Recently, the company also acquired auto media and car content platform Autocar India and kicked off operations of its NBFC which is a fully owned subsidiary of the parent company. For the fiscal year ending March 2024, the firm’s revenue from operations increased to Rs 3,725.02 crore from Rs 3,259.78 crore in FY23. During the same period, its losses decreased by 28% to Rs 590.37 crore. Spinny’s core competitor Cars24 reported a 25% year-on-year increase in revenue in FY24 to Rs 6,917 crore. The SoftBank-backed company posted a net loss of Rs 498 crore and an adjusted EBITDA loss of Rs 318 crore for the same period.

Exclusive: FamApp’s turnaround with profitability, new round and co-founder exit

EntrackrEntrackr · 4m ago
Exclusive: FamApp’s turnaround with profitability, new round and co-founder exit
Medial

Exclusive: FamApp’s turnaround with profitability, new round and co-founder exit Fintech startup FamApp (formerly FamPay) seems to have made a significant turnaround, as the company turned profitable and reached Rs 90–100 crore in revenue in the last fiscal year (FY25). Moreover, the six-year-old firm is in late-stage talks to raise secondary and primary capital from existing investors, according to three sources familiar with the matter. “Elevation Capital is leading a $15 million round, primarily comprising secondary capital, for FamApp,” said one of the sources on condition of anonymity. “The secondary component will facilitate an exit for co-founder Kush Taneja and potentially some seed-stage investors.” According to sources, ongoing differences between co-founders Taneja and Sambhav Jain over several months is a key reason for Taneja’s exit. FamApp last raised $38 million in its Series A round four years ago. So far, it has raised $42.7 million from investors like Elevation Capital, Y Combinator, Peak XV, and angels such as Kunal Shah and Amrish Rau. According to sources, Elevation and other investors will primarily acquire Taneja’s stake in the new round. The renewed investor confidence in FamApp comes after the company established stable and sizable revenue channels. “FamApp closed FY25 with Rs 90–100 crore in revenue and turned profitable, recording a profit before tax of Rs 10–12 crore,” said the second source, who wished to remain anonymous. While FamApp’s FY25 performance will be officially confirmed once it reports consolidated numbers, figures shared by sources indicate a major turnaround. In FY24, the company generated Rs 25 crore in revenue but reduced its losses by nearly 90%. FamApp earns revenue through premium upgrades like FamX Ultra (Rs 699), ATM withdrawals (Rs 29), video KYC (Rs 99), autosave feature (Rs 29), and nominal charges on loading of the teen wallet. Moreover, the platform sells premium skins that users can apply as stickers within the app. It also sells codes for gaming (like PUBG) and shopping, targeting the interests of its teen user base. During the first quarter of FY25, FamApp (by Trio) launched Namaspay, a UPI app for foreign travelers in India. It charges a Rs 1,650 one-time fee, 4% on loading, and 1% on withdrawals. According to sources, these revenue channels performed well for FamApp during the fiscal year ending March 2025. Queries sent to FamApp, Elevation, Sambhav Jain and Kush Taneja didn’t elicit any response. The sustained turnaround will be a welcome respite for investors for a concept they had high hopes from. Profitability also ensures the firm is better positioned to adapt to new changes in the fast evolving fintech space, especially the payments space. The exit of Co-Founder Taneja seems to have been handled well, with a cash exit for his labours over the years. Six years after starting with Jain, it is not odd for him to relook his own ambitions and interests vis-a-vis the direction the firm has taken. In fact, many would consider him lucky to be exiting on what appears to be friendly terms.

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