AUTO1 Group, Europe’s leading multi-sided platform for the used car sector, today announced a € 460 million investment by SoftBank Vision Fund. The investment, of which around half will be made through the issue of new shares, values AUTO1 at €2.9 billion and will support the Group’s continued growth and international expansion. DN Capital led the Series A round in 2013. AUTO1 Group’s technology enables dealers as well as private individuals to trade seamlessly throughout Europe via an analytics and logistics platform that most efficiently matches supply and demand for used cars. Since launching in 2012, AUTO1 Group has expanded into more than 30 countries, trading with over 35,000 professional partners and selling over 40,000 cars per month. SoftBank’s Akshay Naheta will join the AUTO1 Group board following the investment.
AUTO1 Group Co-CEO Hakan Koç said: “We are delighted to welcome SoftBank Vision Fund, one of the largest tech funds in the world, as an investor in AUTO1 Group. We believe that the Fund’s deep investment and technology expertise will help us to accelerate our growth as we continue to focus on making the used vehicle market more efficient and transparent.”
Akshay Naheta, Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisors, said: “AUTO1 Group has built a fast growing, data-enabled platform introducing efficiency and transparency to the fragmented used car market, which is worth more than $300 billion annually. The SoftBank Vision Fund’s capital and our operational expertise with marketplace businesses will support continued global growth.”
About Auto1 Group
Founded in 2012, AUTO1 Group is Europe’s leading multi-sided platform for the used car sector. As an independent multi-brand platform, AUTO1 Group is aimed primarily at the used car trade and offers over 35,000 professional partners the opportunity to access a diversified portfolio of more than 40,000 vehicles. By connecting buyers and sellers through technology the company enables dealers and increasingly consumers to trade seamlessly throughout Europe. AUTO1 Group owns business units like AUTO1.com, Autohero.com or wirkaufendeinauto.de. AUTO1 Group matches supply and demand for used cars in over 30 countries. In 2016 the company sold more than 300,000 vehicles and achieved revenues of EUR 1.5 billion. For more information please visit www.auto1-group.com.
About DN Capital
DN Capital is a leading early stage and growth capital investor focused on Seed, Series A and select series B investments in marketplaces, digital health, fintech, SaaS, digital media, e-commerce, mobile applications and software companies. The firm was founded in 2000 and has operations in London, Berlin and Silicon Valley. DN Capital’s previous funds are top performers and the firm is one of the lead investors in companies such as Endeca (sold to Oracle), Shazam (one of the world’s leading mobile apps), Auto1 (world’s largest used car marketplace), Purplebricks (IPO London) and Quandoo (sold to Recruit). The professionals at DN Capital bring over 75 years of private equity & venture capital experience to their investments, and actively work with portfolio companies to steward their growth through the various stages of development. Additional information about the firm and its portfolio companies can be found at http://www.dncapital.com.
For further information
Kanira Shah
Investor Relations
DN Capital
