Electric vehicle maker Ola Electric has received the Indian market regulator’s approval for an initial public offering (IPO), according to media reports on Tuesday.
Ola Electric’s IPO comprises a fresh issue of Rs 5,500 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of Rs 1,750 crore—totalling Rs 7,250 crore. Existing shareholders were said to be selling 95.19 million shares in the OFS, as per the firm’s DRHP, a report by Moneycontrol.com said.
Ola Electric’s founder Bhavish Aggarwal will be selling 47.3 million shares. The firm’s initial investors—AlphaWave, Alpine, DIG Investment, Matrix, and others—will also be selling 47.89 million shares via the OFS.
Ola Electric was the first-ever Indian EV two-wheeler maker to file for an IPO. In April, Reuters reported that Ola Electric was planning an IPO to raise $500 million at a valuation of about $5 billion.
In April, the firm raised about $50 million (Rs 410 crore) via non-convertible debentures (NCDs) from EvolutionX. The company had raised $385 million in a mix of equity and debt funding from Temasek-led investors and the State Bank of India in October last year. Its valuation had reportedly touched $5.5 billion after a $140-million funding round led by existing backer Temasek in September last year.
According to data available with Vahan, Ola Electric dominated India’s electric two-wheeler segment with a 41% market share in February. Its competitors in the space include TVS Motor, Bajaj Auto, and Ather Energy.
Besides, the company has been working on its lithium-ion cell manufacturing facility with an initial capacity of 5 gigawatt hours in phase I, which will be further scaled up in phases to 100 gigawatt hours at full capacity.
The company, however, continues to face competition from Uber, Rapido, and local players in the Indian market.
