Bhavish Aggarwal Sells Portion of Ola Electric Shares to Repay Promoter Loan, Raises INR 91 Cr The company said the step was taken to remove all promoter pledges, which it said can create avoidable risk and volatility.
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
Ola Electric founder Bhavish Aggarwal on Tuesday sold 2.6 crore shares of EV maker through a bulk deal, raising about INR 91 crore, according to exchange data.
The company said the transaction was undertaken to help repay a promoter level loan.
The shares sold represented around 0.6 percent of Ola Electric's total equity and were sold at an average price of INR 34.99 per share. Exchange data shows that as of September, Aggarwal held a 30.02 percent stake in the company.
In a statement, Ola Electric said the proceeds will be used to repay a loan of INR 260 crore. Against this loan, Aggarwal had earlier pledged 3.93 percent of his shares in the company. The repayment is expected to result in the release of the pledged shares. After the transaction, the promoter group is expected to continue holding about 34 percent of the company, with no dilution of promoter control.
The company said the step was taken to remove all promoter pledges, which it said can create avoidable risk and volatility. It added that the action aligns with the founder's view that the company should operate without any pledge related overhang and with fully unwound leverage.
Aggarwal had earlier pledged Ola Electric shares on several occasions to secure funding for his artificial intelligence venture, Krutrim. In recent months, the AI company has seen layoffs and the exit of several senior executives, according to people familiar with the matter.
Ola Electric has also been facing challenges in the electric two wheeler market. In November, the company reported its lowest monthly sales in three years, selling 7,567 units and capturing 7.2 percent of the market.
The slowdown has affected financial performance. For the quarter ended September 30, the company reported a 43.1 percent decline in revenue to INR 690 crore, compared with INR 1,214 crore in the same period last year.
