Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal is also participating in the funding round as he seeks to strengthen his involvement in the management and affairs of ANI and substantially influence the affairs of the company to ensure that its operational/strategic Decision making is on the line. Along with his vision, he showed documents from the Competition Commission of India (CCI), which TOI has reviewed.
The development comes at a time when Ola’s operations have taken a major hit due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has resulted in the company cutting costs and laying off around 1,400 employees across multiple verticals.
US investment company Vanguard Group, a minority shareholder in Ola, recently slashed Ola’s valuation to nearly $3 billion from about $6 billion in 2019.
The organization’s personal-mobility focused EV plans, however, remain on track with the launch of its first electric scooter soon.
“Over the past 12 months we have made our ride hailing business more robust, flexible and efficient,” said Bhavish AggarwalHe is the Chairman and Group CEO of Ola.
“With a strong recovery post lockdown and shift in consumer preference away from public transport, we are well positioned to capitalize on the diverse urban mobility needs of our customers.”
The fresh money will be used to boost the Uber rival’s taxi business. Plum Wood, a new investor, will acquire a minority stake in Ola, while the investment holding company, Fort Canning, will participate in the round, as well, CCI documents showed. Other major shareholders of Ola are SoftBank and China’s Tencent.
The total amount raised by Ola in the current round will be around $4 billion. Ola last raised $300 million in 2019 led by carmakers Hyundai and Kia Motors.
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