Ola Electric Soars into IPO Territory
Indian electric scooter maker, Ola Electric, is set to roll out its initial public offering (IPO) for retail subscription on August 2. The SoftBank-backed firm revealed that its IPO will value the company between $4.2 billion and $4.4 billion, according to two anonymous sources. The issue will open for institutional investors on Thursday, with a retail subscription deadline of August 6.
Ola founder and CEO, Bhavish Aggarwal, is expected to offload nearly 37.9 million shares in the IPO, roughly 20% lower than initial estimates. The company’s valuation is a notable 18.5% to 22% lower than its last funding round, led by Singapore’s Temasek in September, which valued the brand at $5.4 billion.
“Marquee investors have been offered the IPO at the lower end of the valuation,” said a source with intimate knowledge of the IPO planning. Ola officials revealed that the lower valuation is deliberately intended to encourage higher participation from interested investors.
This IPO makes Ola Electric the largest and first Indian electric vehicle manufacturer to debut on the market. The current bullish Indian equities market has helped the country’s stock indices break multiple records, with a new milestone achieved as they surpass Hong Kong to become the fourth-biggest bourse globally.
Lastly, the company’s fresh share offering consists of a 55 billion rupee ($657 million) issue size, which remains constant as initially planned.
