Ola, India’s largest cab aggregator company is in talks with Singapore based sovereign wealth fund Temasek to add $500 million-$1 billion to its war chest. This round will also see participation from other investors, according to sources close to the development.
This move comes after rumors surfaced regarding a potential investment by SoftBank in the Indian ride hailing major. This deal will value Ola at $ 6-7 billion and would also include a secondary sale of shares by a slew of investors. According to sources, investors who were given Ola stock after Ola’s acquisition of Taxiforsure will be selling their shares along with angel investor Rehan Yar Khan.
The Economic Times reported venture firms Accel India, Bessemer Venture Partners, Helion Venture Partners and the Taxiforsure founders Aprameya Radhakrishna and Raghunandan G., will be selling their stock as well. A local investment firm has been mandated for the sale with the secondary sale pegged at $150 million for a 5% stake. However, sources add, both the primary and secondary sales will be conducted parallelly so that the incoming investor would gain a sizable stake in the company.
Currently, Ola holds a market share of close to 65% – 70% and is locked in an intense battle against global cab aggregator Uber. In 2017, Ola raised $1.1 billion in a funding round led by Tencent Holdings Ltd., and existing investor SoftBank. The company was also in advanced talks to raise an additional $1 billion as a part of the same financing round. Both the spokespersons for Ola and Temasek said they “do not comment on market speculation.” Interestingly, Temasek, along with SoftBank have invested in Southeast Asia based cab hailing startup Grab.
At present, India’s ride hailing market is currently pegged to be valued at $ 10 billion. Founded in 2011, Ola currently has a presence in 110 cities in India and recently launched its services in Australia as well.
