Ola In Talks With Naspers For $7-8 Bn Valuation & Temasek For $1 Bn Funding

ANI Technologies-owned ride-hailing company Ola is reportedly in talks with South African Internet conglomerate Naspers LLC to raise funding at a valuation of $7-8 Bn. At the same time, Ola is in talks with Singapore’s Temasek Holdings and two other funds to receive $1 Bn fresh funding.

Ola is currently valued at about $4 Bn. If the talks materialise, it may see its valuation double after the proposed funding round. Temasek is already in the process of becoming a shareholder in the ride sharing platform through a secondary deal worth over $200 Mn.

The media report quoted people in the know of the development stating that Temasek has decided to complete the secondary share purchase first, before finalising the terms of the primary investment.

“Usually both primary and secondary transactions happen simultaneously, but in this case, they want to negotiate the primary transaction at a higher valuation only after existing shareholders have sold their stakes in the secondary deal,” the report quoted its source on the condition of anonymity.

Inc42 had earlier reported that Uber drivers in Perth, Australia, were urging their customers to switch to Ola so they can earn more per ride.

Meanwhile, there’s a lot more happening at Ola, here’s a quick update:

• Ola has announced to expand to New Zealand and appointed Brian Dewil as its Country Manager
• The New Zealand expansion comes quickly on the heels of Ola’s foray into South Wales and Greater Manchester in the UK. Prior to this, in February, the company announced its expansion in Australia
• The company is now making money on every ride. Bhavish Aggarwal said that the company has not sacrificed top-line growth or ceded market share to Uber to achieve this goal
• Ola is aiming to become profitable this year
• In FY17, Ola’s operating loss increased 32% to $543.5 Mn (INR 3,731 Cr) while its operating revenue more than doubled to $171.6 Mn (INR 1,178 Cr)
• The company was reportedly in talks with Singapore-based sovereign wealth fund Temasek and other investors to raise another $500 Mn to $1 Bn in funding
• Singapore-based Temasek Holdings has agreed to vote with Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, the founders of Ola, as part of a recently structured secondary subscription of shares
• It is currently present in 110 cities with more than 1 Mn driver partners and has 14 service categories and ferries 2 Mn people every day

Ola is also setting up a group holding company that will own Ola Cabs, Foodpanda, and its other businesses that are still in the nascent stage, such as its electric cabs unit and international operations.

[The development was reported by Livemint]