SellAnyCar.com raises total funding to US$50 million
New US$35 million investment from Sanabil Investments, Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC) and Olayan Financing Company Investment raised as UAE’s largest online car trader crosses AED1 billion (US$272.2 million) milestone in total revenues (GMV) in 2019
Dubai, UAE; 11 February 2020: The UAE’s SellAnyCar.com has secured new funding of US$35 million, bringing the total funding amount raised since inception to approximately US$50 million, led by Saudi Arabia’s Sanabil Investments, a subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund (PIF); Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC), a sovereign financial institution owned equally by the six GCC states; and Olayan Financing Company.
Sanabil Investments, GIC and Olayan join earlier regional investors such as iMENA Group, a venture capital investment company which backs innovative start-ups to support their growth to becoming regional champions, and the CEO and Founder of SellAnyCar.com Saygin Yalcin.
Evercore acted as sole financial adviser to SellAnyCar on the deal, one of the most significant to be announced in the region for a UAE brand. In 2019, SellAnyCar.com crossed a new milestone in surpassing AED1 billion (US$272.2 million) in total gross merchandising value (GMV).
The new capital will be used to accelerate growth throughout the GCC and SellAnyCar.com is now expanding into Saudi Arabia with plans to employ more than 300 Saudi nationals and open 100 branches throughout the Kingdom.
Saygin Yalcin, CEO of SellAnyCar.com, said: “This is a reassuring and highly positive signal for start-ups throughout the GCC and wider Middle East and an example of regional investment supporting homegrown entrepreneurs. Our growing team here in the UAE is very much looking forward to seeing the positive impacts of the investment to support our ambitious growth strategy.
“We are focusing on Saudi Arabia in 2020 and will look to build upon the success we have achieved in the UAE. As the market leader in the Emirates, where every third car is registered with our online platform, we enter the Saudi market with expertise, knowledge and a passion to make a positive impact on the way people in Saudi Arabia buy and sell cars.”
SellAnyCar.com was launched in the UAE in 2013 and quickly disrupted the traditional methods of selling privately owned vehicles in the country. With world-class technology powering the platform and software which enables fast decisions for consumers online, the marketplace can sell most cars within 15 minutes, with guaranteed accuracy and 100% of vehicles being sold to dealers without the buyer physically seeing the car. As the Middle East’s first car buying service, the marketplace offers free and instant online car valuation, free car inspection, a guarantee to purchase any car within 30 minutes, immediate payment to the seller and all paperwork management. Within one 30-minute appointment, individuals selling their car have access to more than 10,000 dealers who compete to be the highest bidder, ensuring a fair price is secured.
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About the Author
SayginYalcin Saygin is the Founder & CEO of the Middle East's (ME) first & largest car buying service, SellAnyCar.com and Founder of the first & largest online private shopping club in the ME, Sukar.com, which has been acquired by Souq.com, making him Partner at the Souq.com and Jabbar Internet Group, becoming the largest ecommerce company in the Arab world, with 3000+ employees. In its largest acquisition outside the US to date, Amazon.com has acquired Souq.com Group. He has been selected as a UBS Industry Leader, a network of Ultra-High-Net-Worth Individuals. He was also Advisory Board Member & Academic Lecturer of Entrepreneurship at the Canadian University of Dubai. He was referred to as "the region's online business guru" by the National newspaper in the UAE, while Arabian Business named him as "one of the region's finest young entrepreneurs and a major part of the entrepreneurial scene in recent years". Fortune magazine (mag) named him in the 40 under 40 list, as one of the most influential young people in business, Entrepreneur mag ME awarded SellAnyCar.com, with Saygin at its helm, as the "Fastest Growing Company in the ME", while the National newspaper sees it among a handful of tech companies to "have the potential to break the $1bn barrier". In a cover story, Entrepreneur mag ME titled him as "undoubtedly one of the youngest & most successful internet entrepreneurs in the ME”, awarded SellAnyCar.com as "Technology Innovator of the Year”, while Khaleej Times awarded him as the Technology Leader. Gulf Business selected him as 1 of the Top 10 Entrepreneurs in ME. In a cover story, Arabian Business counts him as 1 of the most successful entrepreneurs to call Dubai home. During the World Government Summit, HH Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed, Minister of Interior of the UAE, presented Saygin as an inspiring story for the country, in the presence of world leaders, incl. HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
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