CarDekho parent acqui-hires biz consulting firm Valueserve

Girnar Software Pvt. Ltd, which owns auto portals CarDekho.com, BikeDekho.com and Gaadi.com, has acquired Jaipur-based business consulting firm Valueserve  Management Consultants Pvt. Ltd in an all-cash deal.

In a statement, the company said the acquisition is part of  its move to diversify its offerings and cater to the public sector by providing e-governance solutions, consulting and management support services.

As part of the transaction, Yatendra Garg, director and founder of Valueserve, has assumed charge as associate director at GirnarSoft and will report to Anurag Jain, co-founder and COO of Girnarsoft.

"Given the push to create a digital India, e-governance solution development and consultation appealed to us as a viable option. We are confident that the acquisition of Valueserve will allow us to add value to various e-governance and ICT initiatives," said Anurag Jain.

Founded in 2010 by IIT Madras alumnus Garg, Valuserve is involved in business consultancy and software publishing. It also makes custom software as per the requirement of users. Prior to founding Valuserve, Garg has worked in PwC (PriceWaterHouseCoopers) and SAP.

"In a day and age when the boundaries between public and private endeavours are shrinking, we are witnessing an increasing number of private business entities venturing into the public sector. This development holds a lot of promise for the public sector," Garg said in the statement.

This is Girnar Software's ninth acquisition in the last two years and follows barley two months after it acquired virtual reality (VR) startup Volob Technologies Pvt. Ltd

In April, the Jaipur-based company made a flurry of acquisitions. It acquired SaaS-focused startup Connecto in a cash-and-stock deal. Prior to that, it acquired car testing and benchmarking firm Advanced Structures India and roadside assistance startup Help On Wheels.

In the same month, Girnar secured an undisclosed amount of investment from Google Capital as part of its extended Series B funding round, with participation from existing investor Hillhouse Capital.

In January 2015, it had raised $50 million in the first tranche of its Series B funding round led by Hillhouse Capital, with participation from Sequoia Capital and Tybourne Capital. The investment was done at a $300 million post-money valuation.

It competes with CarTrade.com, which secured $145 million (Rs 950 crore) from Temasek Holdings, US-based March Capital and existing investor Warburg Pincus in its latest funding round in January this year.

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