Indian car service and repair startup GoMechanic has been acquired by a consortium led by Lifelong Group, the auto parts firm said on Wednesday. However, yt did not give any financial details of the transaction.
It said that in order to ensure the continuity of the business, the board and shareholders of the company initiated a speedy and widely publicized sale process. The sale was led by GoMechanic's investor Stride Ventures. The GoMechanic Business has been acquired by the Lifelong Group as the majority shareholder under Servizzy.
"The Servizzy consortium, to be led by the Lifelong Group, emerged as the strongest bid in this process for the acquisition of the GoMechanic Business in accordance with the terms and conditions contained in the agreement," the statement said.
This acquisition and new ownership structure with Lifelong Group heralds a new phase for GoMechanic business. It offers a new lease of life for GoMechanic and marks an exciting new chapter in its journey, the firm said.
The transaction will assist in preserving the ecosystem at large and also enable providing continued livelihood to the employees at Gomechanic, it added.
An official spokesperson from Lifelong Group said, "Acquisition of the GoMechanic business, aligns with our strategic vision of synergising the Lifelong Group’s proven expertise in the automotive industry. We are focused on building upon GoMechanic's business journey, and will continue revolutionizing the Indian automotive service and repair industry."
The development comes barely two months after the startup's co-founder Amit Bhasin admitted to errors in the company's financial reporting. The company also said it will lay off 70 percent of its workforce and conduct a third-party audit of its business.
Founded in 2016, the Sequoia India-backed startup has serviced and repaired more than two million cars in the country through its service centers, and says its services cost 40 percent less than the offerings of automakers.
The Lifelong Group is an Indian company established in 1985 and has been looking to expand its operations in the automotive service and repair industry. This acquisition and new ownership structure with Lifelong Group, a renowned manufacturer of automotive components, medical devices, and a player in the e-commerce space, heralds a new phase for GoMechanic business.
