Carma’s investment banker founders are chasing $100 million for a $369m ASX listing

Carma’s investment banker founders are hoping that investors are hungry to see four-year-old online used car dealership go public with a bookbuild underway today to raise $100 million for a public listing on the ASX next month.

The Sydney startup, which already has more than $100 million in venture backing under its belt, is reportedly taking bids at $2.70 a share – 2.4x the FY2025 revenue forecast – a $300 million pre-money valuation, ahead of the IPO prospectus being lodged later this week ahead of plans to list on November 5 with a market cap of $369 million.

Lachlan MacGregor (ex UBS) and Yosuke Hall (ex Goldman Sachs) launched the online reconditioned car reseller in 2021 with a bang when it raised a $28 million seed round in March led by Tiger. A year on they nabbed a $75m Series A in May 2022.

In March Carma borrowed $30 million in a convertible note as it eyed off an IPO, backed by ASX-listed Regal Funds Management and existing investor Tiger Global, with support from General Catalyst, Australian private equity manager Five V. Other investors include Entrée Capital and Avenir Growth, who’ve backed online used car portals in Europe and India, and family office Terrace Tower Group.

Last year the business sold 2000 cars generating $68 million in revenue – an average of $34,000 a car. It’s now had more than 5000 customers.

Earlier this month, the company added Nicole Sparshott, former Global Chief Transformation Officer at Unilever, and Melinda Snowden, a non-executive director on several ASX-listed companies, to the Carma board.

The business has a used car reconditioning facility in Sydney, with plans to expand nationally.

A similarly-styled business in the US, Carvana, listed on the NYSE in April 2017 as “the Amazon of cars”, at US$15 a share. The company’s stock has risen by more than 70% in 2025 and now sits above US$345.