Ola Electric is in advanced talks to raise between $250 million to $500 million in a new financing round. This comes when the Indian firm looks to scale its electric vehicle manufacturing business in the South Asian market.
Details about the Ola Electric investment
Falcon Edge Capital is in advanced talks to lead the round. This values Ola Electric between $2.75 billion to $3.5 billion (up from $1 billion in its previous fundraise in 2019).
The talks come at a time when Ola, the initial parent firm of Ola Electric is looking to file for an IPO. The firm, which recently raised $500 million, has signed up a few bankers. It is looking to file for the IPO later this year, according to a third person familiar with the matter.
Terms of the deal are not final yet so they may change, sources cautioned.
It was reported that the firm is looking to raise as much as $1 billion, cautioning that the matter is not yet final. Indian media first wrote about the IPO talks.
Ola’s Electric scooter
Earlier this month, Ola Electric launched its first electric scooter, called Ola S1. It is priced at 99,999 Indian rupees, or $1,350. The electric scooter offers a range of 121 kilometers (75 miles) on a complete charge.
“Ola is the best product in the market currently with features significantly better than peers. Incumbents have launched products that appear as another variant of an ICE product and lack the punch. We have been specifically disappointed with both Bajaj and TVS on this front,” analysts at Bernstein wrote to clients in a report earlier this month.
“While startups such as Ather have made significant efforts on the product. The steep pricing, significantly slower pace of manufacturing scale-up, restricted launch in only a few cities earlier were the key drivers for weak sales. The crucial differentiators for Ola are the software-based features, range, peak speeds, and acceleration (fastest EV scooter now), boot space, and colour options.”