The valuation of online classifieds portal Quikr has surged to $1 billion for the quarter ended September, according to the quarterly financial report published by its Swedish investor Kinnevik AB.
The valuation of online classifieds portal Quikr has surged to $1 billion for the quarter ended September, according to the quarterly financial report published by its Swedish investor Kinnevik AB. The bounce back in terms of valuation is largely due to the platform generating 12.4 million responses in the quarter. Quikr was valued at around $1 billion when it had raised $150 million in April 2015. However, the valuation dropped in subsequent quarters and fluctuated in the range of $940-$989 million. The latest report stated, “The fair value of Kinnevik’s 18% shareholding in Quikr amounts to SEK 1,498 million as of 30 September 2017, based on a total value of Quikr’s fully diluted equity of $1 billion. The valuation of Quikr is based on a discounted cash flow analysis”.
Headquartered in Bengaluru, Quikr serves approximately 20 million monthly visitors and focuses its operations on five verticals – goods, cars, jobs, homes and services. Quikr not only competes with the Naspers-backed OLX.in, but also with other start-ups such as UrbanClap and HouseJoy. One of the well-funded homegrown internet start-ups, Quikr started its journey as India’s Craigslist and was founded in 2008 by Pranay Chulet and Jiby Thomas. The company has till now raised more than $400 million from investors such as Kinnevik, Tiger Global Management, Warburg Pincus and Norwest Venture Partners.
The funding has also helped Quikr acquire many start-up companies to strengthen its market position. While it bought Commonfloor and Grabhouse in the real estate segment, it acquired Stayglad, Zapluk, Salosa and Zimmber in the beauty and home services segment. It also bought Babajob and Hiree to consolidate its market position in online recruitment. Last year, Quikr acquired Stepni, a Bengaluru based start-up that connects vehicle owners with service providers. Now, the company is reportedly planning to roll out an on-demand delivery service to take on the likes of Swiggy, BigBasket and Amazon Now.
According to its Swedish investor, Quikr’s platform generated 12.4 million responses in September 2017 quarter compared to 11.7 million responses in the June quarter. The roll-out of a low-cost data network in the country has resulted in an uptick in traffic, said the report.
Source by :- financialexpress
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