Mumbai: Indian ride-hailing company Ola Cabs is gearing up for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) to secure $500 million with a company valuation of approximately $5 billion, media reports said.
SoftBank backed Ola, often dubbed as India's counterpart to Uber, and intends to submit paperwork for approval to the country's market regulator SEBI within three months, Reuters reported citing sources who requested anonymity.
Ola has not commented on this, so far.
The company is currently engaged in discussions with various investment banks, including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citi, as well as India's Kotak and Axis, with plans to onboard IPO advisors within the next month, as stated by two of the sources.
While Citi and Bank of America refrained from commenting, the other banks did not respond to comment requests.
This is Ola's second attempt at an IPO, following a 2021 initiative to raise funds up to $1 billion which was later shelved.
In 2021, Ola had achieved a valuation of $7 billion through fundraising; however, its valuation has been downgraded by its investors in subsequent internal assessments, said the report.
Vanguard, a shareholder of Ola, revised its internal valuation of the company to $1.9 billion in February, said the Reuters report.
Among Ola's investors are Warburg Pincus, Temasek, and Tiger Global Management.
Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal is hailed as one of India's most prominent startup entrepreneurs.
Often likened to Tesla's Elon Musk, Aggarwal also oversees a separate venture, Ola Electric, which stands as India's largest electric scooter manufacturer.
Ola Electric is also contemplating an IPO and had filed regulatory approval papers in December, according to Reuters.
In recent months, Ola's cab business has been focused on reducing losses and enhancing operational efficiency.
The company's losses were significantly reduced in the fiscal year ending 2023, and just last week, Ola announced the closure of its international operations in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.
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