Singaporean state-owned investment firm Temasek has paid $225m for a stake in India-based, corporate-backed ride hailing platform Ola through a secondary share purchase, the Economic Times reported yesterday.
Temasek will take a single-digit stake in the company according to people directly briefed on the matter, buying shares from early investors. It is also considering investing money directly in Ola, which is reportedly in negotiations with investors to raise $1bn in new funding.
Formerly known as Olacabs, Ola runs an on-demand ride service that spans some 110 Indian cities, with a reported 125 million registered users. However, the company booked a loss of about $540m in the 2017 fiscal year, according to ET.
Several early Ola employees are set to sell shares in the deal, in addition to Accel India, Bessemer Venture Partners and Helion Venture Partners, all investors in Taxiforsure, the car and taxi aggregation service Ola acquired in 2015.
Ola has raised a total of $2.35bn in primary funding, most recently securing $1.1bn in an October 2017 round led by a $400m investment by internet group Tencent and backed by $250m from telecommunications firm SoftBank at a $3.8bn valuation.
RNT Capital Advisors, Falcon Edge Capital and Tekne Capital Management also took part in the 2017 round, which followed $500m from SoftBank, China-headquartered ride hailing service Didi Chuxing, Baillie Gifford, Tiger Global Management, Falcon Edge and DST Global in late 2015.
Ola’s earlier investors include Tiger Global, Matrix Partners, Sequoia Capital, JS Capital, ABG Capital, Parkwood Bespin, Fii Ltr Focus Fund and Vanguard Group, before it raised $210m from SoftBank in 2014.
The company subsequently added $400m in an early 2015 series E round led by DST Global that included SoftBank, Falcon Edge, Tiger Global, Accel, GIC and Steadview Capital.