India’s Ola Electric is accelerating its listing plans and aims to file regulatory papers for its up to $700 million IPO by the end of October, according to sources with direct knowledge of the matter. Backed by investors such as Temasek and SoftBank, Ola Electric was valued at $5.4 billion in a recent fundraising round.
An executive from Ola Electric sent an email to its bankers and lawyers on Sunday, urging them to prioritize meeting a five-week deadline for the IPO. The company has sought the assistance of investment banking units from Kotak and ICICI in India, as well as foreign banks including Bank of America and Goldman Sachs.
Ola Electric and Kotak did not provide any comment when requested, while the other three banks declined to comment. The sources requested to remain anonymous as the communication is considered internal.
The IPO project is internally known as “Project Himalaya”, and the memo sent to the investment professionals included a request to avoid taking long leaves to ensure their availability, as per the sources. It is uncommon for Indian companies preparing for an IPO to impose such restrictions on their senior bankers and lawyers.
Once the IPO papers are submitted, they will be reviewed by India’s markets regulator, who may raise queries, suggesting that the actual listing may still be several months away. Ola Electric is reportedly planning IPO roadshows for early January or February.
Ola Electric, founded by Bhavish Aggarwal, is the market leader for e-scooters in India, with a 30% market share. With the Indian government’s push for the adoption of electric vehicles, the popularity of Ola Electric’s affordable e-scooters, starting at $1,080, has greatly increased. In a previous interview, Aggarwal stated, “Tesla is for the West, Ola is for the rest.”
However, Ola Electric is still operating at a loss. According to Reuters, the company recorded an operating loss of $136 million on revenue of $335 million in the fiscal year ending March 2023.
(Reporting by M. Sriram; Additional reporting by Aditi Shah; Editing by Aditya Kalra and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
Credit: The Star : Tech Feed
