SoftBank-backed Carro in talks to raise over $100 mln ahead of potential US IPO - exec

By Yantoultra Ngui

SINGAPORE, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Carro, a Southeast Asian online automotive marketplace, is in talks with potential investors to raise over $100 million ahead of a possible U.S. listing in 18 months, said a senior executive at the Singapore-headquartered unicorn.

"Currently we are entertaining approaches from certain investors as a result of which we are thinking of a small fund raise," Chief Financial Officer Ernest Chew told Reuters.

Chew, a former HSBC banker in Hong Kong and London, said the investors were global and regional "blue chips". He declined to give further details.

The fundraising could value Carro, which has valuation of over $1 billion, even higher, Chew added.

Carro is also in the midst of securing "triple digit million dollar" financing from banks at around 5% annually, a rate Chew said was "near risk-free".

Proceeds will be used to support expansion, he added.

Carro's platform allows consumers and dealers to buy and sell vehicles, as well as providing insurance and financing services, according to its website.

It competes with the likes of Carsome and Carousell in Southeast Asia.

Founded in 2015, Carro has expanded to Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan and Taiwan. It has raised over $1 billion in debt and equity from investors including Japan's SoftBank Corp and Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC.

It posted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of over $4 million in June, according to its press release in August.

Carro has already been audited to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) level, which makes it ready for an initial public offering (IPO) in the U.S., Chew said.

A successful IPO would see Carro join a growing number of Southeast Asian companies seeking listing in the United States, which are filling part of the void left by Chinese companies that have paused U.S. IPOs amid political tensions with Washington.

(Reporting by Yantoultra Ngui; editing by Miral Fahmy)