Temasek, Warburg Pincus, Bhavish Aggarwal invest $500 million in Ola

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Ola on Friday said Temasek, Warburg Pincus affiliate Plum Wood Investment and Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal have invested $500 million (about Rs 3,733 crore) in the ride-hailing platform ahead of its proposed IPO. This is among the largest investments in the Indian consumer internet space by these funds, a statement said. Ola continues to scale up across various categories and geographies in its ride-hailing business, it added. “Over the last 12 months, we’ve made our ride-hailing business more robust, resilient, and efficient. With strong recovery post lockdown 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,” Ola Chairman and Group CEO Bhavish Aggarwal said.

Aggarwal added that he looks forward to collaborating with the new partners in its “next phase of growth”. The company, however, didn’t specify a timeline for its proposed Initial Public Offer (IPO). Ola has previously talked of a possible listing as well. An IPO will help Ola investors like SoftBank, Tiger Global, and Steadview Capital to exit or partially sell their stake in the company to return funds to their shareholders. Founded in 2011 by Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, Ola offers services in India, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. It competes with Uber in these markets as well. “They (Ola) are the leading mobility platform and one of the biggest consumer internet platforms in India with a robust and fast-growing business. We look forward to collaborating with Bhavish and the team in the next phase of Ola’s growth,” Vishal Mahadevia, Managing Director and Head of India at Warburg Pincus, said.