After Ola Electric, Ola Cabs now talks with investment banks and considers going public

After Ola Electric, Ola Cabs now talks with investment banks and considers going public

After its founding in 2010, SoftBank and Tiger Global were among the first to support Ola Cabs.

Soon after its founding in 2010, Ola Cabs received support from investors such as Softbank and Tiger Global.

According to three people familiar with the development who spoke on condition of anonymity, ANI Technologies, the parent company of Ola Cabs, began preliminary talks with investment banks this week as the holding company assesses the possibility of launching an initial public offering (IPO) of the ride-hailing business.

The development follows sibling company Ola Electric's December submission of its draft red herring prospectus with market regulator Sebi in an effort to generate around Rs 7,250 crores via an initial public offering (IPO), the first for an Indian electric vehicle (EV) company.

"On April 19 in Bangalore, Ola Cabs had preliminary talks with a few national and international investment banks. There could be further meetings with other banks in the future "explained one of the individuals mentioned above.

The individual said that no decision had been made on the listing at this time, and that plans may change in the future based on the state of the market.

Soon after its founding in 2010, Ola Cabs received support from investors such as SoftBank and Tiger Global. An IPO would allow investors to sell their shares and make expansion financing easier to get.

There was another confirmation of the meeting between the lenders and the company.

"Ola Electric and Ola Cabs are two distinct businesses and both are IPOable," a third source told Moneycontrol. It's still early; if they want to go forward, they will assemble a group of advisers and move forward.

Moneycontrol contacted ANI Technologies, but the company refused to respond.

Kotak The banks involved in the Ola Electric issuance include Mahindra Capital, Citi, BofA Securities, Goldman Sachs, Axis Capital, ICICI Securities, SBI Caps, and BoB Caps.

Ahead of Their D-Street Debut

Hemant Bakshi, the CEO of Ola Cabs, said in January that the company has ambitions to extend its electric vehicle (EV) two-wheeler services and electrify its three- and four-wheeler services. Ola Cabs competes with Uber in the Indian market.

One of our goals is to transition all of our transportation services to electric vehicles. At a press conference, Bakshi—who succeeded founder Bhavish Aggarwal—stated, "This is a priority for us."

Aggarwal said that he will continue to be "fully involved" with the company. Hemant and I are partners in this endeavor. I am the proverbial entrepreneur, coming up with fresh ideas and inventing, while he handles strategy and operations."

After reporting an EBITDA loss of Rs 66 crore in FY22, Ola's Mobility division generated revenue of Rs 2,135 crore in FY23, an increase of approximately 58 percent. Additionally, the company achieved positive EBITDA of Rs 250 crore for the first time.

Ola Cabs has closed its foreign operations in a few countries because to increased competition, government fleet electrification requirements, and the company's general change in emphasis towards the India market.

"After reevaluating our goals, we've made the decision to shut down our ride-hailing operations in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. We are still very enthusiastic and committed to our goal of serving one billion Indians," the company said in a statement in response to Moneycontrol's inquiries.

According to regulatory documents, US-based Asset Management Company (AMC) Vanguard reduced ANI Technologies' fair value in February for the third time in a row.

Ola's valuation has decreased by 74% to $1.9 billion after the current markdown from $7.3 billion when it secured $139 million from IIFL, Edelweiss PE, and other investors in December 2021.

It is essential to remember that the AMC's internal evaluation of the macro and microenvironment usually serves as the basis for these modifications to fair values. They could not always signify a long-term increase or decrease in the startup's total worth.