CCI approves Warburg Pincus', Temasek's investment in Ola parent ahead of IPO

India’s anti-monopoly watchdog has approved global PE fund Warbug Pincus’s, Temasek and Fort Canning’s investment in ANI Technologies, the parent of ride hailing company Ola.

The official handle of the Competition Commission of India or CCI said it had approved the proposal.

“Commission approves acquisition of shares by Plum Wood Investment (Warburg Pincus’s investment vehicle) and voting rights by Mr Bhavish Aggarwal in ANI Technologies (Ola),” CCI said in a tweet. In a follow-on tweet, the watchdog said it has approved investment by MacRitchie Investments (Temasek) & Fort Canning Investments, too.



On July 9, Ola said existing investors sold shares worth $500 million to Warburg Pincus and the Singapore government's investment fund Temasek Holdings in a secondary transaction. New York-based Tiger Global and venture capital fund Matrix Partners India, early backers who together hold around 13-15% in the online taxi platform, sold shares in the round along with a clutch of angel and individual investors.

In a secondary transaction, capital from a new investor goes to an existing one and not to the company’s coffers.

Warburg Pincus led the round, chipping in $280 million-$300 million, while Temasek and Singapore-based hedge fund Broad Peak Investment Advisers invested the rest, ET reported.

MacRitchie Investments, owned by Temasek; Plum Wood Investment, a vehicle representing Warburg Pincus India; Fort Canning Investments, the investment vehicle of Broad Peak, and Aggarwal invested (in his personal capacity) in the company, regulatory filings with the Registrar of Companies showed.

“The secondary round was at a discount of around 35-50% to the company's last valuation during its Series J round in 2019,” a source told ET then. Ola was valued at $5.5-$6 billion at the time. The ride-hailing is also in talks for a $500-million fund infusion in a second fundraising tranche, ET had reported.

The Bengaluru-based company is shuffling its cap table as it prepares to go public.

Ola’s other big shareholders include Japan’s SoftBank—which holds a 22% stake—and China's Tencent, which has about 9% stake, data from research firm Tracxn showed.

The shared mobility sector has been severely impacted due to the Covid-19 pandemic and resultant lockdowns. Over the past year, Ola has focused on launching electric vehicles amid slow demand for its ride-hailing business. Founder Aggarwal recently said that the company would start manufacturing electric scooters soon. Ola Electric is a separate entity and is backed by Tiger Global, SoftBank as well as Temasek.

Also Read: After electric scooter, Ola wants to sell used cars online

In May, ET reported—citing a report by RedSeer Consulting—that the mobility sector, which includes cabs, auto rickshaws and bike taxis, clocked around 78 million rides in March, 69% of what it had recorded in the pre-Covid-19 months last year.