CCI approves Warburg Pincus’ investment in Ola parent ahead of IPO

India’s anti-trust regulator has approved global private equity fund Warburg Pincus’ investment in ANI Technologies, the parent of ride-hailing company Ola.

“Commission approves acquisition of shares by Plum Wood Investment (Warburg Pincus’s investment vehicle) and voting rights by Mr Bhavish Aggarwal in ANI Technologies (Ola),” CCI said in a tweet.

On July 9, Ola said existing investors sold shares worth $500m to Warburg Pincus and the Singapore government’s investment fund Temasek Holdings in a secondary transaction. New York-based Tiger Global and venture capital fund Matrix Partners India, early backers who together hold around 13-15% in the online taxi platform, sold shares in the round along with a clutch of angel and individual investors.

In a secondary transaction, capital from a new investor goes to an existing one.

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Warburg Pincus led the round, chipping in $280m-$300m, while Temasek and Singapore-based hedge fund Broad Peak Investment Advisers invested the rest, ET reported.

MacRitchie Investments, owned by Temasek; Plum Wood Investment, a vehicle representing Warburg Pincus India; Fort Canning Investments, the investment vehicle of Broad Peak, and Aggarwal invested (in his personal capacity) in the company, regulatory filings with the Registrar of Companies showed.

“The secondary round was at a discount of around 35-50% to the company’s last valuation during its Series J round in 2019,” a source told ET then. Ola was valued at $5.5-$6 billion at the time. The ride-hailing is also in talks for a $500m fund infusion in a second fundraising tranche, ET had reported.

The Bengaluru-based company is shuffling its cap table as it prepares to go public.

Ola’s other big shareholders include Japan’s SoftBank—which holds a 22% stake—and Chin.

Source: The Economic Times 

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