Sachin Bansal Looks To Sell $100 Mn Ola Stake: Report

Flipkart cofounder Sachin Bansal, who made his largest personal startup investment of $100 Mn in Ola back in 2019, is reportedly in discussions to divest his stake in the ride-hailing major.

The sale depends on Bansal’s expectation of a premium, with a valuation pegged at approximately $4 Bn, ET reported, citing sources. The discussions involve private investors and family offices.

Inc42’s queries to Ola and Bansal did not elicit any response till the time of publishing the story. The story will be updated on receiving the response.

In 2019, when Bansal made his investment in Ola, the company was estimated to be valued at around $3 Bn.

Bansal’s move to sell his Ola stake coincides with his increasing focus on Navi, his fintech venture. Over the past year, he has been consolidating resources for Navi while seeking external funding for the startup. 

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in October last year directed Sachin Bansal’s Navi Finserv and three other non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to stop sanctioning and disbursing loans due to supervisory concerns. However, the bank after two months lifted the restrictions placed on Navi after discussions around rectification of deficiencies. 

Prior to the RBI ban, Navi secured a $24.5 Mn (around INR 206 Cr) business loan securitisation deal with Goldman Sachs (India) Finance.

The Bansal-led fintech unicorn also surpassed Cred to emerge as the country’s fourth largest UPI player in October last year.

The recent development is followed by Bansal offloading his stake in electric vehicle (EV) maker Ather Energy by selling 7.5% shareholding last year. Major part of his shareholding in the EV major was then sold to Zerodha cofounder Nikhil Kamath.