Singapore-based online classifieds marketplace operator Carousell has acquired Laku6, an Indonesia-based used-phone e-commerce site, in a transaction worth $25 million as it looks to boost sales in a rapidly-growing secondhand phone market.
According to a statement on Tuesday, Carousell was supported by its investor, the Temasek-backed Heliconia Capital, to invest in and gain control of Laku6.
Laku6 allows users to trade devices through its app. The company has a technology that can diagnose secondhand mobile phone conditions in under two minutes.
The startup was founded in 2016 and claims to have processed more than 500,000 mobile phone transactions to date. Over the years, Laku6 has attracted a number of e-commerce companies before Carousell made its move recently.
Back in 2019, DealStreetAsia had reported based on sources that unicorn Tokopedia had picked up a ‘significant’ stake in Laku6. However, publicly, Tokopedia and Laku6 had only announced a cooperation to allow Tokopedia users to trade in their gadgets.
Having Laku6 in its group will allow Carousell to tap into Southeast Asia’s electronic recommerce industry that is expected to reach $18.6 billion by 2026, according to RedSeer Strategy Consultants.
“This partnership provides for a potent combination to secure Carousell’s leadership in the Greater Southeast Asia electronics recommerce market, bringing together Laku6’s AI-first remote diagnostic technology, Carousell’s regional recommerce platform of tens of millions of users, and one of the largest capital investments to date into the region’s electronics recommerce space,” Carousell co-founder and CEO Quek Siu Rui said in the statement.
Since its start in 2012, Carousell has come a long way from being a marketplace to buy and sell used lifestyle products. According to a DealStreetAsia Company Report in 2021, the company has forayed into property and automotive listings as well.
Since then, Carousell has expanded its footprint gradually across the region by acquiring companies and signing major deals.
Recently, the company acquired authenticated streetwear marketplace Ox Street and Singapore’s largest omnichannel fashion recommerce retailer, Refash, to cement its leadership position in secondhand goods arena.