Initial public offering (IPO)-bound electric two-wheeler maker Ola Electric Mobility Ltd has raised Rs 410 crore (about $50 million) through non-convertible debentures from EvolutionX Debt Capital, showed regulatory filings made with the Registrar of Companies (RoC).
EvolutionX Debt Capital, a debt financing platform established by DBS and Temasek, has earlier backed Indian internet firms such as Udaan, Mensa Brands, PharmEasy and LendingKart.
Prior to the latest debt funding, the company had closed a $240 million debt financing from State Bank of India in October 2023 as part of a $384 million financing round, which included equity funding from Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek.
At the time, Ola Electric Mobility was valued at $5.4 billion. According to Tracxn, the company has raised a total of about $1 billion in equity and debt funding so far.
On December 22 last year, Ola Electric Mobility filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), proposing to raise up to Rs 5,500 crore through a fresh issue, apart from an offer-for-sale component of 95.2 million shares. The Bengaluru-based company is eyeing a $7-8 billion valuation through the public offering, ET had reported earlier, citing bankers.
The company has yet to get Sebi’s nod for the IPO.
Company founder Bhavish Aggarwal has been holding a roadshow to pitch the IPO to global investors, according to people familiar with the matter.
Separately, Ola Electric Mobility, the parent company of Ola’s electric vehicle (EV) business, plans to infuse Rs 500 crore into its wholly owned subsidiary Ola Electric Technologies Pvt Ltd (OET), the latest RoC filings showed.
As per the company’s DRHP, OET is “engaged in the business of providing services across the electric vehicles value-chain, and manufacture and supply of electric vehicles”. It is a material subsidiary that accounts for almost 95% of the parent company’s net loss.
The Rs 500-crore investment in OET, which could be in one or more tranches in the form of either equity or debt, comes close on the heels of Ola Electric Mobility’s plans to enter the commercial EV segment.
ET reported on March 13 that the company is planning to launch an electric auto rickshaw, which will be sold directly to consumers. The new vehicle is expected to compete with the likes of Mahindra Treo, Piaggio Ape e-city and Bajaj RE in the electric three-wheeler segment.
Ola Electric Mobility has been working on the product for a few years as part of its wider plans to enter the commercial vehicle business.
According to Vahan portal data, Ola Electric has about 41% market share in the electric scooter segment, while TVS Motor, Bajaj Auto and Ather Energy hold around 18%, 14% and 11% share, respectively.
The company has also been working on opening its ‘gigafactory’ to manufacture its battery cells, and plans to allocate Rs 1,226 crore from the projected IPO proceeds for the gigafactory.
