Ola to raise $500 mn from Temasek, Warburg in pre-IPO round

ANI Technologies, parent of ride hailing platform Ola, on Friday said private equity firms Temasek Holdings and Warbug Pincus affiliate Plum Wood Investment will invest $500 million ahead of its upcoming initial public offering (IPO). 

Ola, backed by Japan’s Softbank Group Corp, said that it continued to scale its business across categories and geographies.

“With strong recovery post-lockdown and a shift in consumer preference away from public transportation, we are well positioned to capitalise on the various urban mobility needs of our customers,” Ola chairman and group CEO Bhavish Aggarwal said in a statement.

The Bengaluru-based company did not provide details on its IPO plans.

Earlier today, TechCircle reported that Singapore government owned Temasek and Fort Canning, also a Singapore based investment firm, and Warburg Pincus had separately filed proposals with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to invest in ANI Technologies. Aggarwal is a part of both proposals and seeks to increase his rights in the company.

Read: Temasek, Fort Canning, Warburg seek CCI nod to buy Ola stake

Temasek, the filing showed, proposed to make the investment through its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary MacRitchie Investments. “The investment represents a good opportunity for MacRitchie and Fort Canning to invest and participate in the long-term growth of the cab aggregator market in India,” it said in the filing said. 

The second proposal, filed by Warburg Pincus and Aggarwal, seeks to acquire a minority stake in Ola through Warburg’s Mauritius-based entity Plum Wood. 

“Warburg is excited to partner with Bhavish and Ola. They are the leading mobility platform and one of the biggest consumer internet platforms in India with a robust and fast-growing business,” Vishal Mahadevia, managing director and head of India at Warburg Pincus, said in the press statement.   

Last month, Ola appointed two chief financial officers GR Arun Kumar and Swayam Saurabh. 

Founded in 2010 by Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, Ola serves more than 250 cities across India, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. Its employee count stands at over 7,000.