Quikr acquires used-goods marketplace Zefo

Quikr India Pvt. Ltd has bought used-goods marketplace Zefo, as the online classifieds platform continues to depend on an acquisition strategy to drive growth.

The deal will help Quikr expand its Quikr Assured vertical for pre-owned products that it had launched last year, the company said in a statement. The deal is in line with its strategy of going deeper in key verticals, it added.

It didn’t disclose any financial details.

“With Quikr and Zefo as a combined entity, we will be able to offer a broader selection of products at even more competitive prices along with as strong a focus on quality,” said Pranay Chulet, founder and CEO of Quikr.

This is Quikr’s first acquisition in the used-goods category and adds to the dozen-odd deals it has struck across verticals over the past few years.

In December 2018, for instance, Quikr acquired IndiaProperty.com. It had earlier bought HDFC Developers, HDFC Realty and CommonFloor. These deals were aimed at expanding the real estate vertical.

In May 2017, the company took over Babajobs Services Pvt. Ltd and Rejuvenate Solutions Pvt. Ltd to grow its jobs listing and home services businesses.

Founded in 2008, Quikr has so far raised $350 million from investors such as Tiger Global Management, Kinnevik AB, Warburg Pincus, Matrix Partners, Norwest Venture Partners, eBay, Nokia Growth Partners and Omidyar Network. It last raised $150 million in early 2015 from Kinnevik, Tiger Global and Steadview Capital at a post-money valuation of nearly $1 billion.

In December 2018, Quikr raised Rs 55 crore (around $8 million then) in venture debt from InnoVen Capital. For the financial year ended March 2018, the company reported a 95% increase in its operating revenue and narrowed its net loss.

Zefo

GoZefo.com, operated by Bengaluru-based Zero Effort Technologies Pvt. Ltd, was founded by Rohit Ramasubramanian, Arjit Gupta, Karan Gupta and Himesh Joshi in 2015.

The startup operates in Bengaluru, Mysore, Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida and Mumbai. It offers used goods in categories such as televisions, refrigerators, washing machines and microwave ovens, and furniture products including beds, sofas and dining tables.

“With this transaction, the capabilities we have built and the offerings we have honed can now be offered to Quikr’s large customer base,” said Ramasubramanian, who is also the CEO of the company.

The company has raised close to $20 million from investors such as Helion Ventures, Sequoia Capital and Beenext. In its most recent funding round in December 2018, it had raised around Rs 21 crore (close to $3 million) from New York-based FJ Labs, Sequoia and Helion.