Report: Ola Cabs In Talks With Investment Banks About $500 Million IPO
According to Reuters, ride-hailing startup Ola Cabs intends to begin its initial public offering (IPO) in order to earn $500 million (more than Rs 4,150 crore) at a value of about $5 billion.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) will receive applications for permission from Ola, supported by SoftBank, in three months, as per a Reuters story citing three people with firsthand knowledge of the situation.
The Reuters story, which cited two of the people, said that the business is in negotiations with investment banks, including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citi, and India’s Kotak and Axis. It also aims to pick IPO consultants within a month.
Ola’s Second IPO Attempt
Ola made an initial public offering (IPO) effort twice before abandoning a proposal to raise up to $1 billion in 2021. Ola’s valuations were $5.7 billion in a private investment round in January 2019 and $7.3 billion by the end of 2021.
Due to worldwide socioeconomic circumstances, US-based investment management firm Vanguard cut Ola’s valuation by 35% in May of last year, bringing its total value down to around $4.8 billion.
As part of the “restructuring” process, Ola fired 200 workers from three verticals, Ola Cabs, Ola Electric, and Ola Financial Services, in January.
In February of this year, Vanguard, a stakeholder in Ola, reduced the company’s internal value to $1.9 billion.
Temasek, Tiger Global Management, and Warburg Pincus are some of its other investors.
Ola Taxis
Bhavish Aggarwal, one of the most well-known startup entrepreneurs in the nation, established Ola. Likened to Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, he also oversees Ola Electric, the largest electric scooter manufacturer in India.
According to Reuters, Ola Electric submitted paperwork for regulatory permission in December of last year and is also preparing for an IPO.
In recent months, the taxi industry has sought to reduce losses and optimize operations. In the fiscal year that ends in 2023, its losses more than halved, and this week Ola announced that it is closing its overseas operations, which include the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.
