Regional automotive behemoth iCar Asia drives to the top in Thailand with key acquisition

Malaysia-based automotive marketplace iCar Asia today jumped to the head of the pack in Thailand with the acquisition of one of the country’s largest vehicle classifieds sites, One2Car, for A$16.7 million (US$14.4 million) – paid in a combination of iCar Asia shares worth A$3.3 million (US$2.8 million), and another A$13.4 million (US$11.6 million) in cash. The deal was funded by the issuing of shares worth A$28.3 million (US$24.6 million) by iCar Asia, according to the Australian Business Review.

The latter will be combined with iCar Asia’s native Thai website, ThaiCar, which the firm acquired earlier last year. The acquisition of the 12-year-old Thai classifieds site will add an audience of more than 1.2 million unique monthly visitors and about 1,800 car dealers to iCar Asia’s four million monthly car buyers. According to an official statement, One2Car delivers approximately 80 percent of all car buyer leads in greater Bangkok.

Damon Rielly, CEO of iCar Asia, says that the deal will help them to establish “clear leadership in all three of our operating markets,” namely Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia. He adds that they are now “in a position to move to aggressively grow revenue in Malaysia and Thailand, as well as to focusing our resources on building on the early stage leadership position we have in Indonesia.”

One2Car will become the sixth brand in the iCar Asia network across the three countries, which currently comprises of Carlist and LiveLifeDrive in Malaysia, ThaiCar and Autospinn in Thailand, and Mobil123 in Indonesia.

“This is a game-changing acquisition for iCar Asia and something we have been striving toward for over two years. The acquisition of Thailand’s number one automotive classified site – in addition to ThaiCar and Autospinn – takes us straight to a dominant market leadership position,” Rielly says.

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