http://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/india-cox-automotive-buys-stake-in-mahindra-first-choice-wheels-hdfc-pe-firm-phi-advisors-get-exits-20934/?utm_source=DealStreetAsia%3A+The+Daily+Brief&utm_campaign=1ce42c0c95-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0fa50e40c1-1ce42c0c95-246479069
US-based digital marketing company Cox Automotive has acquired a strategic stake in Mahindra First Choice Wheels, the used-car retailing unit of Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd (M&M), the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
The transaction, through a secondary sale, saw one of Mahindra First Choice’s early investors, HDFC, selling its entire stake. Phi Advisors, a private equity investor in the company, also sold a part of its stake.
While HDFC owned 4% in the company, Phi held around 25-35%, said a person familiar with the deal. He declined to be identified.
Cox Automotive, with $17 billion in annual revenue, owns Auto Trader, the largest digital automotive marketplace in the US, and vehicle research platform Kelley Blue Book.
Mahindra First Choice owns IndianBlueBook.com, an online vehicle valuation company.
Mahindra First Choice had raised Rs.94 crore from San Francisco-based hedge fund Valiant Capital in March. The deal gave Valiant a 13.36% stake, valuing the company at about Rs.700 crore at the time. Mahindra First Choice is one of the few companies in this space in India to be profitable. It reported a profit of Rs.1.92 crore on a revenue of Rs.44 crore in fiscal 2015, Palle said. He expects the revenue to beRs.70 crore this year.
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