Ola Raising $500 Million as It Moves Toward Stock-Market Debut
- India ride-hailing giant gets funds from Temasek, others
- Company will keep exanding across geographies, categories
Ola cab drivers wait for passengers in Amritsar, India.
Photographer: Marinder Nau/AFP/Getty Images
Indian ride-hailing startup Ola said it’s raising $500 million from investors including Temasek Holdings Pte and an affiliate of Warburg Pincus LLC ahead of a planned initial public offering.
The round is among the largest investments in the consumer internet segment in India by the investors, the Uber Technologies Inc. rival said in a statement on Friday. Ola hasn’t made a decision regarding the timing of its IPO, a company representative said. The company said it will continue to expand across geographies and categories.
India’s consumer internet companies are growing at a rapid clip, captivating global investors who are pouring billions of dollars into startups big and small. While ride-hailing has been hit by the pandemic, Ola said its business has rebounded as restrictions have eased.
“Over the last 12 months we’ve made our ride-hailing business more robust, resilient and efficient,” founder Bhavish Aggarwal, also the group’s chairman and chief executive officer, said in the statement. “With strong recovery post lockdown and a shift in consumer preference away from public transportation, we are well positioned to capitalize on the various urban mobility needs of our customers.”
Aggarwal also participated in the funding round. Ola’s other backers include SoftBank Group Corp. and Tiger Global Management.