Ola selects Citigroup, Kotak Bank to manage upcoming IPO

Ride-hailing aggregator Ola has reportedly selected banks led by Citigroup and Kotak Mahindra Bank to manage its upcoming initial public offering (IPO) that aims to raise about $ 1 billion. Ola has also selected Morgan Stanley for the listing, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter.

Ola is aiming for the IPO in October and seeks a valuation worth over $8 billion. The Bengaluru headquartered firm's IPO plan comes amid a host of other tech start-ups, including digital payments leader Paytm, e-commerce giant Flipkart, and edtech major Byju's, prepare to raise funds via IPO.

The IPO timeline, the valuation and its size could change as talks are ongoing, the report said. Ola is also yet to make a statement on this development.

Last month, marquee investors like Temasek and Plum Wood Investment Ltd, an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, in partnership with Co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal, pumped in $500 million (about Rs 3,733 crore) in the company. The funding is among the largest investments in the Indian consumer internet space by these funds.

Ola, founded by Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, claims to be India's largest mobility platform and one of the largest ride-hailing companies globally, serving over 250 cities across India, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.

Ola's app offers mobility solutions by connecting customers to drivers and a wide range of vehicles across bikes, auto-rickshaws, metered taxis, and cabs.

Besides its core mobility offering, Ola runs an electric vehicle arm, Ola Electric. This month, Ola Electric launched its S1 electric scooters range in India.

This range comes in two variants -- Ola S1 (priced at Rs 99,999) and Ola S1 Pro (priced at 1, 29,999). These e-scooters are produced at the Ola Futurefactory in Tamil Nadu's Krishnagiri, which has an annual capacity of 10 million units. The Bengaluru-based firm is also eying to make inroads into the electric four-wheeler industry by 2023.

Also read: CCI approves $500 million investments in Ola by Temasek, Warburg Pincus, Bhavish Aggarwal

Also read: ‘Didn’t anticipate the crazy demand’: Bhavish Aggarwal on Ola e-scooter bookings

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