Ola Electric transforms itself into a public company ahead of IPO

Ola Electric has transformed itself into a public company as it gears up for its Initial Public Offering (IPO) in the coming months. This significant milestone involves undertaking a corporate restructuring to convert itself from a private limited company to a public company, regulatory filings showed.

The IPO may be in the range of $800 million to $1 billion, according to the sources.

The conversion of a private limited company into a public company is a mandatory step for a company that wants to list on the stock exchange. The name of the firm has been changed to Ola Electric Mobility Limited from Ola Electric Mobility Private Limited, the regulatory filings showed.

“The next step is to file the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP),” said a person. “It is a powerful instrument that carries all the critical information about a company, thus helping investors make an informed decision.”

SoftBank-backed Ola Electric is India’s leading manufacturer of electric vehicles (EVs) and stands to have a market share of almost 35 per cent.

The company recently secured about Rs 3,200 crore in funding as part of its equity and debt round. This funding was obtained from Temasek-led marquee investors and project debt from State Bank of India. The funding round, which includes equity, has raised the Bengaluru-based firm’s valuation to $5.5 billion, up from its previous valuation of $5 billion, according to sources. The funds raised are expected to create an interim event and pave the way for an IPO. This is expected to be one of the largest automotive IPOs in India.

The raised funds will be utilised to expand Ola’s electric vehicle (EV) business and establish India’s first lithium-ion (Li-ion) cell manufacturing facility in Krishnagiri (Tamil Nadu).

These funds will also enable Ola Electric to accelerate the growth of its two-wheeler manufacturing capacity and facilitate the launch of electric motorcycles, followed by electric cars, and expedite the construction of the Gigafactory.

The Bhavish Aggarwal-led firm competes with Ather Energy, Okinawa Autotech, Ampere EV by Greaves, Hero Electric, and TVS Motor Company. It is also planning to produce electric cars, which will put the company in competition with Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra, as well as global giants like Tesla and Hyundai. The company’s substantial investments in research and development and cell manufacturing are expected to underpin the success of its future products.

Ola Electric was selected by the government as the only Indian EV company under its ambitious Production-Linked Incentive (PLI)-Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Scheme, receiving a maximum capacity of 20 gigawatt hour (GWh). The PLI-ACC Scheme will be instrumental in localising the most critical aspects of the EV value chain.

Ola is establishing a Li-ion cell manufacturing facility near its Futurefactory in Krishnagiri. This facility is the first of its kind for Li-ion cell manufacturing in India, with an initial capacity of 5 GWh in Phase-I. It will be further scaled up in phases to 100 GWh at full capacity.