Additional US$10 million equity funding from other strategic investors in a subsequent close to Aimia’s US$35 million raise completes the company’s target funding size of US$45 million
Trade X Group of Companies Inc., a global B2B automotive trading platform, announced it has completed its financing round as initially announced on July 27, 2021, to fuel the company’s growth and drive forward its mission to eliminate barriers to buying and selling pre-owned vehicles across international borders. The additional equity funding of US$10 million, at a US$250 million pre-money valuation, is led by a group of new investors, including EchoVC, Frontier Ventures, and Ugrowth (University Growth Fund).
As part of this funding round, TRADE X announced in July that it had raised US$35 million in equity from its lead investor Aimia Inc. (TSX: AIM), a Toronto-based publicly listed holding company. Earlier this year in February, TRADE X closed a transaction for a senior secured revolving line of credit of US$50 million, including an accordion to expand up to US$100 million. TRADE X will deploy the capital raised for acquisitions and global expansion across North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
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“We are humbled by the support that we have received this year from investors who are confident that the market for international trade in pre-owned vehicles is ripe for disruption,” said Luciano Butera, EVP and COO of TRADE X. “Cross-border trade in pre-owned vehicles was complicated and full of friction before TRADE X: The global automotive industry had no real place to connect, obtain accurate pricing information, trade financing, compliance, and logistical support. TRADE X solves these challenges by providing a highly transparent, secure, and compliant marketplace for automotive buyers and sellers to transact, accelerate their inventory turnover and boost their profits.”
Eghosa Omoigui, Founder and Managing General Partner at EchoVC, commented: “Trust in the automobile supply and commerce chain is incredibly important to consumers and businesses alike. As global trade becomes more interconnected, syndicating trust in an automated manner becomes increasingly key. TRADE X is poised to facilitate a dramatic increase in the volume of quality pre-owned vehicles traded internationally. For the first time ever, it will be logistically and economically feasible for buyers to secure vehicles between Africa, the Middle East, and Europe, or between the US, Canada, and Mexico. This represents a tectonic shift in trade, and we are incredibly excited to back TRADE X’s mission to automate and streamline global vehicle commerce.”
“Having previously invested in digital marketplaces for the global automotive industry, we witnessed firsthand the lack of efficient digital solutions for cross-border pre-owned vehicle trade,” said Dmitry Alimov, Founding Partner of Silicon Valley-based venture fund Frontier Ventures. “TRADE X is an innovative tech company with a high-caliber team, a receptive customer base, and global focus. We look forward to providing them with resources from our Frontier Ventures team, including access to our relationships in the tech ecosystems of Europe and Asia-Pacific.”
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“Structural, legal, and financial barriers have created massive market inefficiencies in international auto trade despite increasing cross-border demand worldwide. University Growth Fund is thrilled to be partnering with TRADE X as they work to remove these barriers and unlock massive opportunities for both buyers and sellers worldwide,” said Peter Harris, Founding Partner at Ugrowth. “TRADE X’s platform will give buyers access to more options and better pricing while giving sellers a larger market through which they can move vehicles.”
TRADE X simplifies the process of buying and selling pre-owned vehicles internationally, handling all processes, procedures and documentation to ensure each transaction is compliant, insured, and monitored from start to finish. Users can search for and request specific vehicles, view global pricing analytics, post vehicles for sale, assess economic viability, leverage arbitrage opportunities, obtain trade financing and transact in the currency of their choice.
TRADE X handles all quality checks, international payments, transport, logistics, retitling, engaging registered importers, homologation, customs clearance, and speedometer conversion across borders, effectively eliminating each complicated step that was previously the responsibility of the buyer to handle manually. By standing as the trusted third-party escrow, TRADE X provides peace of mind and security for all users, whether they are trading on their own continent or overseas.
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