Malaysia’s Carsome To List On Nasdaq At $2 Billion Valuation

Malaysian unicorn Carsome is reportedly seeking to go public through a dual listing on Nasdaq and the Singapore Stock Exchange that would value the company at around $2 billion.

The used car marketplace has has confidentially filed for the IPO with Nasdaq already, according to a report from Deal Street Asia, citing people familiar with the matter.

The listing, which is said to be aimed at raising $400 million, was encouraged by one of Carsome’s key investors, 65 Equity Partners, a unit of Singapore sovereign-wealth fund Temasek Holdings.

Carsome did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The company became Malaysia’s largest tech unicorn after it received $170 million in a funding round that lifted its valuation to $1.3 billion last year. Some of the other investors backing Carsome include Tsai Ming-kai’s MediaTek, Lance Gokongwei’s Gokongwei Group and Patrick Grove’s Catcha Group.

The company has been expanding its operations across the region through a series of acquisitions. In March, Carsome bought a majority stake in CarTimes, one of the largest auto companies in Singapore. That deal came just one month after Carsome completed its acquisition of Australia-listed iCar Asia for $200 million.

The platform was founded in 2015 by Eric Cheng and Teoh Jiun Ee as a vehicle comparison site. It currently has operations in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore. Carsome’s services cater to both consumers and used car dealers, from car inspection to financing and ownership transfers. It employs more than 3,000 people across all of its offices.

Singapore-based rival Carro was also said to be making plans for a possible IPO after raising $360 million in a Series C funding round led by SoftBank in June last year that gave the company a valuation of more than $1 billion.