Quikr raises Rs 365 crore, valued at Rs 1,800 crore

Online classifieds platform Quikr has raised $60 million (Rs 365 crore) in the latest round of funding, led by Tiger Global Management.

This valued the venture at Rs 1,708-1,830 crore (Rs 17.08-18.3 billion).

The company has said the funds raised will be used to invest in product development and expansion of its fast-growing mobile business.

“The explosive growth in mobile internet is fundamentally reshaping the Indian classified internet market, and we are well positioned to be at the fore of this growth,” said Pranay Chulet, founder and chief executive of Quikr.

In the previous round of funding in March, Quikr was valued at about Rs 1,525 crore (Rs 15.25 billion).

At that time, the company had raised Rs 550 crore (Rs 5.5 billion) in an investment round led by Swedish investment firm Investment Kinnevik.

So far, Quikr has raised about Rs 1,300 crore (Rs 13 billion), through eight rounds.

Existing investors such as Kinnevik, Matrix Partners India, Nokia Growth Partners,

Norwest Venture Partners, Omidyar Network, Warburg Pincus and eBay participated in the latest funding round.

Tiger Global Management, which has investments across e-commerce and internet companies such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Flipkart, Makemytrip and Justdial, is a new investor.

“Growing rapidly, the company has become one of India’s top classifieds players, with a deep understanding of the local market,” said Lee Fixel, partner, Tiger Global Management.

Quikr records 30 million unique users a month and is present across 940 cities in India.

It operates in 10 categories, including mobile phones, household goods, cars, real estate, jobs, services and education.

RAISING THE MOOLAH QUICKER

• The funds raised will be used to invest in product development and expansion of its fast-growing mobile business
• The company had raised Rs 550 crore (Rs 5.5 billion) in March
• Existing investors such as Kinnevik, Matrix Partners India, Nokia Growth Partners, Norwest Venture Partners, Omidyar Network, Warburg Pincus and eBay participated in the latest funding round