India-based ride hailing platform Ola has entered talks with investors including internet and media conglomerate Naspers to raise $1bn in fresh funding, Mint reported on Monday.
Singaporean state-owned investment firm Temasek is also taking part in the discussions. Private equity firm Sailing Capital and Chinese state-backed vehicle China-Eurasian Economic Cooperation Fund supplied an initial $50m for the round last week.
The round is expected to value Ola at $7bn to $8bn, up from the reported $4.3bn valuation at which it raised the cash last week.
Originally known as Olacabs, Ola runs an on-demand ride-sharing and food delivery service that spans India, Australia, New Zealand and the UK.
The round may however be impacted by a disagreement between Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal and two existing investors – telecommunications firm SoftBank and hedge fund manager Tiger Global Management – sources told Mint.
Aggarwal prevented a secondary sale by Tiger Global to SoftBank in 2017, a stance that allegedly made investors wary of backing a business that has had differences with SoftBank, one of the largest VC investors in India.
Ola has raised $2.4bn in funding to date. Temasek purchased a sub-10% stake in the company last month when it bought $225m worth of shares in a secondary transaction.
Internet group Tencent led a $1.1bn funding round for Ola in October 2017 that was backed by SoftBank, RNT Capital Advisors, Falcon Edge Capital and Tekne Capital Management.
DST Global led the company’s $400m series E round in April 2015, which included SoftBank, Falcon Edge, Tiger Global, Accel, Steadview Capital and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, GIC.
SoftBank returned in November the same year for a $500m round that also included ride hailing service Didi Chuxing, Baillie Gifford, Tiger Global, Falcon Edge and DST Global.
SoftBank had already provided $210m in funding for Ola in 2014. The company’s earlier investors include Matrix Partners, Sequoia Capital, JS Capital, ABG Capital, Parkwood Bespin, Fii Ltr Focus Fund and Vanguard Group.