MUMBAI:

Electric scooter

startup

Ola Electric

‘s Rs 6,146-crore

IPO

– biggest this year – is set to to open on Aug 2. This will be the first IPO by an

auto company

since Maruti Suzuki (then Maruti Udyog) went public in mid-2003.
The bidding for the IPO will start on Aug 2 and end on Aug 6 at a price band of Rs 72-76 per share. At the upper end of the price band, the implied

valuation

of the firm is $4 billion – lower than the $7-8 billion valuation it was targeting a few months ago.

It’s also lower than the $5.4-billion valuation at which it had raised funds in its last round in Sept 2023.
“We wanted to price it at attractive, aggressive levels so that they (investors) make money,”

Bhavish Aggarwal

, founder & chairman of Ola Electric told TOI.
Of the total funds being mobilised through the offer, Ola Electric – the top electric two-wheeler maker in India – is raising Rs 5,500 crore through a fresh issuance of shares in the IPO. The balance will be an offer for sale by existing shareholders including global investment giants SoftBank and Temasek.

Aggarwal said there is no slowdown in the India EV story. “Three years ago, when we launched our product, that’s when I believe the EV story began. I do not see any slowing down in the story… there are cyclical ups and downs, basis subsidy changes or some seasonal factors,” Aggarwal said. “Year-on-year… our growth is 90% (FY24 over FY23). The growth story is consistent and secular,” he added. He also said that as more companies enter the

EV market

and more products are launched, the scope will only expand.
The startup, Aggarwal said, is well equipped to tackle the scrutiny that public companies are typically subjected to by the markets. “We have primed ourselves in terms of governance, processes and we want to engage with the public markets and make sure we are satisfying their expectation of governance and exceed that,” Aggarwal said. After the listing, which is expected in the second week of Aug, promoters will retain 37-38% of the company.