INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Ola, the arch-rival of Uber in India, has raised $50 million at a valuation of about $4.3 billion from Sailing Capital, a Hong Kong-based
private equity firm, and the China-Eurasian Economic Cooperation Fund (CEECF), a state-backed Chinese fund
The funding was disclosed in regulatory documents sourced by Paper.vc and reviewed by Indian financial publication Mint.
According to Mint,
Sailing Capital and CEECF will hold a combined stake of more than 1% in Ola
An Ola spokesperson said the company has no comment.
Ola last funding announcement was in October, when it raised $1.1 billion (its largest
funding round to date) from Tencent and returning investor SoftBank Group
Ola also said it planned to raise an additional $1 billion from other investors that would take the round final amount to about $2.1
billion.
At the time, a source with knowledge of the deal told TechCrunch that Ola was headed toward a post-money valuation of $7 billion
once the $2.1 bllion raise was finalized
So while the funding from Sailing Capital and CEECF brings it closer to its funding goal, the latest valuation of $4.3 billion is still
lower than the projected amount.
Ola needs plenty of cash to fuel its ambitious expansion both within and outside of India
In addition to ride hailing, Ola got back into the food delivery game at the end of last year by acquiring Foodpanda Indian operations to
compete with UberEats, Swiggy, Zomato and Google Areo
It was a bold move to make as India food delivery industry consolidated, especially since Ola had previously launched a food delivery
service that shut down after less than one year
To ensure the survival of Foodpanda, Ola poured $200 million into its new acquisition.
A few months later after buying Foodpanda, Ola
announced the acquisition of public transportation ticketing startup Ridlr in an all-stock deal
Outside of India, Ola has been focused on a series of international launches
It announced today that it will begin operating in New Zealand, fast on the heels of launches in the United Kingdom and Australia (its first
country outside of India) this year.
