Bhavish Aggarwal-ledOla is taking a look at a public float of up to $2 billion and is contemplating itemizing the SoftBank-backed firm in India in addition to overseas.
Sources informed TOI that “work has already begun on the IPO (initial public offer) front which may be between $1.5 billion and $2 billion in size”. Bankers are being finalised for the problem that may hit the markets late this 12 months or early 2022, one of many sources mentioned. The draft prospectus may be filed with the market regulator by the fourth quarter of 2021.
The closing valuation at which Ola needs to raise the funds is but to be determined. In March, Ola’s valuation had dropped to round $3.3 billion, probably due to the impression on the corporate’s enterprise due to the pandemic and different components, in accordance to media experiences. Bloomberg quoted sources as saying that the corporate may search a valuation of greater than $8 billion within the IPO.
A spokesperson for Ola refused to touch upon the event. Bankers which can be in talks with the corporate embody Citibank, JP Morgan, Kotak Mahindra and Morgan Stanley.
Several startups — from Paytm and MobiKwik to Policybazaar — are taking a look at IPOs to raise funds and in addition present exit to a number of the traders at a time when the market is flush with capital due to a straightforward financial coverage. Recently, Zomato raised Rs 9,375 crore by way of a blockbuster IPO.
Ola had final raised $500 million from non-public fairness companies Temasek and Warburg Pincus in July. Its whole fundraise to date is round $4 billion, and traders within the firm embody SoftBank, Tiger Global and Steadview Capital, and a few of them could be searching for a partial exit via the IPO.
Ola was integrated in December 2010 by Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati and it dominates the Indian cab-hailing market together with the American Uber. Aggarwal had lately mentioned that with the vaccination drive selecting up and opening of workplaces, demand is coming again. “With strong recovery postlockdown 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.”
