The shares of CarTrade Tech dropped more than 5 percent on November 27 after the firm announced that its proposed acquisition of its rival CarDekho will not materialize as both sides agreed to call off talks.
The shares of the company dropped to Rs 3,004.30 apiece in the morning trading hours of Thursday, snapping a three-session gaining streak.
Background:
Earlier in November, CarTrade confirmed reports stating that it is in talks to acquire rival CarDekho. This came after Moneycontrol reported citing sources that the Mumbai-based auto-tech company, which operates platforms such as CarWale, BikeWale, and OLX India, is close to finalising an acquisition of rival CarDekho in a deal valued at over $1.2 billion.
The prospective transaction would have been among the largest in India's digital auto space and is likely to be structured as a cash-and-equity deal, with due diligence completed and final terms under negotiation, Moneycontrol reported.
If completed, the merger would have combined India's two most established digital auto players and reshape competition for other operators like Cars24, Spinny, and Droom, which have been expanding aggressively in used cars and financing.
"In this context, the Company has been in discussions with Girnar Software regarding a potential consolidation opportunity in the new and used automotive classifieds businesses (CarDekho and BikeDekho) in India. These discussions are limited to the automotive classifieds businesses and do not include financing, insurance, or other non-automotive businesses of theirs," CarTrade said in an exchange filling on November 11.
Acquisition talks called off:
In an exchange filing on November 27, CarTrade said the two companies had “mutually decided not to proceed with the proposed transaction". The disclosure ends months of talks around what would have been one of India’s largest consolidation moves in the auto-tech space.
"This is further to our earlier intimation dated November 11, 2025, wherein CarTrade Tech Limited (‘the Company’) had informed the Stock Exchanges that it was in preliminary discussions with Girnar Software Private Limited regarding a potential consolidation opportunity in the automotive classifieds businesses (CarDekho and BikeDekho) in India," the company said.
The company said its immediate focus would remain on scaling its existing properties — CarWale, BikeWale, OLX India and Shriram Automall.
CarTrade said it believes its current businesses have strong fundamentals, operate in large and expanding markets, and continue to offer significant headroom for growth.
CarTrade share price history:
Despite today's sharp losses, Cartrade Tech shares have gained nearly 14 percent in the past one month, and have doubled in the past six months, implying a surge of more than 100 percent.
The stock's P/E ratio currently stands at around 90.
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