Exclusive: Ola moves closer to IPO, sets EGM for Nov 14

Ride-hailing firm Ola is moving closer to its initial public offering, with the Bengaluru-based company setting November 14 for an extraordinary general meeting of the members of ANI Technologies Private Limited, Ola’s parent company.

Following Ola Electric, this will be the second company to go public under the leadership of Bhavish Aggarwal.

“An Extraordinary General Meeting of the Members of ANI Technologies Private Limited (‘Company’) is scheduled to be held on Thursday, November 14, 2024, at 4:00 PM (IST) at the registered office of the Company,” read an email sent on Saturday by Gagandeep Singh, Office of the Company Secretary at Ola.

Entrackr has reviewed a copy of the email.

In an email dated October 23, the company secretary also mentioned that Ola is evaluating an IPO, subject to market conditions, regulatory, corporate, and other approvals, consents, applicable law, and other relevant considerations. 

The offering is likely to consist of a fresh issue and an offer for sale of equity shares by eligible existing shareholders of the company. 

Sources assert that the company is likely to file a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) in the coming weeks. “As per plan, Ola will file DRHP in the next three to four weeks,” said sources requesting anonymity. 

Queries sent to Ola did not elicit an immediate response.

Recently, The Arc reported that Ola sought approval from investors to become a public entity. In August, Aggarwal announced that Ola Cabs would be rebranded as Ola Consumer, bringing financial services, cloud kitchens, and electric logistics under one umbrella.

While Ola’s parent entity, ANI Technologies, recorded a 42% growth in revenue to Rs 2,799 crore in FY23, the company managed to reduce its losses by nearly 50% to Rs 772 crore during the fiscal year. The company has yet to file FY24 figures officially.

Meanwhile, Vanguard revised Ola’s valuation to approximately $2 billion as of the end of August. Previously, the investment advisor had marked down Ola's valuation to $1.88 billion as of November 30, 2023. It’s worth noting that Ola was valued at $7.3 billion in 2021.

Taking Ola public may pose challenges, especially given that Ola Electric recently hit a new low of Rs 72.6 per share after its August listing at Rs 76 per share. Ola Electric had reached a peak of Rs 157.53 in mid-August.