Ola Electric shares tumble 5% to 52-week low after Bhavish Aggarwal offloads another 4.2 crore shares via open mkt transaction

Ola Electric shares tumbled 5% to their new 52-week low of Rs 31.11 on the BSE on Thursday, December 18, after the company’s founder and promoter, Bhavish Aggarwal, sold an additional 4.2 crore shares on Wednesday in a transaction valued at Rs 142 crore.

Aggarwal has sold a significant portion of his personal stake in the company through open market transactions over two consecutive days.

Wednesday’s stake sale comes just a day after he sold over 2.6 crore shares in a bulk deal at Rs 34.99 per share, amounting to around Rs 92 crore. Combined, the two transactions have resulted in nearly 6.8 crore shares being offloaded over a two-day period.


The company, after Tuesday's stake sale, stated that the stake sale was a one-time, limited monetisation of a small portion of the promoter’s personal stake. The proceeds from the transaction are intended to fully repay a promoter-level loan worth Rs 260 crore.

Ola Electric clarified that the sales were personal in nature and emphasized that they would not result in any dilution of control or changes to the company's operations, governance, or long-term strategy.

However, the market response was immediate and negative. On December 17, Ola Electric’s stock hit an all-time low of Rs 32.67 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), eventually closing nearly 5% lower at Rs 32.90.

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Previously, Ola Electric had indicated that Aggarwal’s stake sale would lead to the release of all previously pledged shares, which made up approximately 3.93% of the company's equity.

This move, the company said, would eliminate a key overhang on the stock. Following the sale, the promoter group is expected to hold around 34% of the company, a level that Ola Electric claims remains among the highest promoter holdings across newly listed technology companies.

The company reiterated that the transaction was carried out entirely at the promoter’s personal level and highlighted the founder’s intent to operate with zero promoter pledge, thereby eliminating leverage-related risks and potential volatility.

The developments come at a challenging time for Ola Electric, which is currently facing headwinds in terms of market demand, sales, and financial performance. The company has been grappling with slowing demand and falling market share.

In October, Ola Electric slipped to fifth place in the electric two-wheeler market, behind competitors Bajaj, TVS, Hero, and Ather. In November, monthly sales fell below 10,000 units to approximately 8,400.

Financially, Ola Electric reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 418 crore for the September quarter. While this marks a narrower loss compared to Rs 495 crore a year ago, revenue fell sharply by 43% year-on-year to Rs 756 crore. The decline underscores the ongoing challenges the company faces amid intensifying competition and softening volumes.

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