ECI Partners has sold CarTrawler, the global online car rental platform, to BC Partners and Insight Venture Partners, receiving a multiple of 6x its initial investment and achieving ECI’s biggest exit by value to date.
Based in Dublin, CarTrawler is the leading global provider of multi branded car rental solutions to partners in the travel industry, including airlines, OTAs and other online travel related operators. It has over 1,000 partners, connecting end customers to more than 1,200 suppliers across 30,000 pickup locations. It also operates online car rental sites under the Holiday Autos and Argus Car Hire brands.
Following the investment in May 2011, the ECI Team assisted the company in attracting additional management talent, expanding its international footprint and streamlining internal commercial processes and systems. CarTrawler’s revenues and profits trebled and headcount doubled as the company expanded into new international markets. In June 2013, the ECI Team supported CarTrawler’s acquisition of Holiday Autos, another former ECI investment, to strengthen the company’s position in the direct to consumer channel.
