TVS Automobiles buys into auto parts portal Jazzmyride for online play

TVS Automobiles Solutions Ltd has acquired a majority stake in automobiles accessories portal Jazzmyride.com, as the operator of the multi-brand car servicing chain under the MyTVS brand seeks to establish a foothold in the e-commerce sector.

Financial details of the deal couldn't be ascertained immediately.

Jazzmyride is run by Storeji Pvt. Ltd and was previously known as Storeji.com. The company was founded in 2011 by Sunil Dhingra, who previously worked with Tata Communications, Infosys and Comviva Technologies.

The portal sells spare parts, car and bike accessories, cleaning and protection equipment, car audio systems and other components. It claims to offer more than 10,000 car and bike accessories from 52 brands.

TVS Automobile is part of the Chennai-based TVS Group. The takeover comes as several brick-and-mortar companies in India ramp up their online presence to tap into the growing e-commerce sector. Some of India's biggest conglomerates such as Tata Group, Aditya Birla Group and Mahindra Group are among those establishing e-commerce businesses.

PwC Corporate Finance was the adviser on the transaction.

The auto spare parts and servicing segment has seen the entry of several startups over the past couple of years. Many of them have raised funds, too.

Mumbai-based online car services marketplace MotorExpert aggregates automobile workshops on its platform and also lets workshops place orders for spare parts and accessories via its mobile app. Bangalore-based auto services marketplace Cartisan raised seed funding from Global Founders Capital, Yuvraj Singh's YouWeCan Ventures, TaxiForSure founder Aprameya Radhakrishna and others last year.

In November last year, Pune-based Iradium Automobiles Pvt Ltd, which operates online auto parts and services marketplace SparesHub, raised an undisclosed amount in pre-Series A funding from Hyderabad Angels and Singapore-based M&S Partners.

In January this year, Myntra and Livspace founders invested in car service booking platform Pitstop.

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