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Temasek and Warburg invest $500 million in Ola
Ola co-founder and group chief executive Bhavish Aggarwal also participated in the investment round to ensure there isn’t any further dilution in his stake, a person aware of the matter said on condition of anonymity.
Temasek Holdings and Warburg Pincus have invested a combined $500 million in ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd, which runs India’s largest mobility platform Ola, ahead of its planned public listing, the Bengaluru-based company said in a statement on Friday.
Ola co-founder and group chief executive Bhavish Aggarwal also participated in the investment round to ensure there isn’t any further dilution in his stake, a person aware of the matter said on condition of anonymity. Aggarwal currently holds a 7.9% stake in the 11-year-old company, according to researcher Tracxn.
The latest investment comes two years after Ola mopped up more than $450 million as part of its Series J round in 2019.
The company, which is preparing for its public offering, will look to list on the Indian exchanges by the first half of 2022, said a second person aware of Ola’s plans, also requesting anonymity.
Ola will join other unicorn startups, including Zomato, Delhivery, Nykaa and Paytm, which are queuing up to go public in the coming months.
Earlier this week, Temasek, Warburg Pincus and Aggarwal filed separate applications with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to seek the antitrust regulator’s approval on the deal, according to public filings.
“Over the past 12 months, we’ve made our ride-hailing business more robust, resilient and efficient. With strong recovery post-lockdown and a shift in consumer preference away from public transportation, we are well-positioned to capitalize on the various urban mobility needs of our customers,” Aggarwal said in a company statement.
Temasek first invested in Ola in August 2018 as part of a secondary round worth $225 million. Warburg Pincus is, however, a new investor in the firm.
“Warburg is excited to partner with Bhavish and Ola. They are the leading mobility platform and one of the biggest consumer internet platforms in India, with a robust and fast-growing business. We look forward to collaborating with Bhavish and the team in the next phase of Ola’s growth,” said Vishal Mahadevia, managing director and head of India at Warburg Pincus.
Japan’s SoftBank is currently the largest shareholder in Ola with a 22% stake..China’s Tencent owns 9%, according to Traxcn.
The ride-hailing industry was one of the worst-hit by the pandemic as demand fell sharply with companies adopting a work-from-home policy.
As a result, several mobility firms announced mass layoffs last year. The second wave of the pandemic came in as a double whammy for the mobility sector, which had recovered to 69% of pre-Covid booking volumes in the first quarter of this calendar year.
