Ola's Valuation Cut To Under $2 Billion By Vanguard

U.S.-based asset management firm Vanguard Inc. has cut Ola's valuation to below $2 billion in what is its third consecutive downmark.

Vanguard holds less than 1% of ANI Technologies Pvt., the owner of the ride-hailing company, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings accessed by NDTV Profit.

It owns about 1,85,355 shares in the company via two funds, viz., the Vanguard World Fund and the Vanguard Variable Insurance Funds.

A large chunk, about 1.6 lakh shares, is held with the Vanguard World Fund, which valued the holding at about $13.26 million, according to its Nov. 30, 2023, filing. This implies a valuation of about $1.88 billion, lower than its earlier $3.5 billion worth.

To be clear, these markdowns have only been made in the internal books of Vanguard, Inc.

ANI Technologies Pvt. has named former Unilever executive Hemant Bakshi as its next chief executive officer, with incumbent Bhavish Aggarwal stepping away from his role as the mobility giant undergoes a streamlining of operations.

The company is reorganising into three business units—ride hailing and mobility, financial services, and logistics and e-commerce—to "allow focused management, streamlined operations, and more agility."

Ola also said its mobility business hit Ebitda-level profitability in FY23.

ANI Technologies' standalone earnings, which take into account only Ola's mobility business, posted "segment-adjusted" earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of about Rs 250 crore, the company had then said. "We're one of the few consumer internet businesses in India to be profitable at this level."

However, NDTV Profit reported earlier that the company's ride-hailing business posted a revenue rise of Rs 1,987.5 crore from Rs 1,220.2 crore in fiscal 2022. Loss from the business narrowed significantly to Rs 1,082 crore from Rs 3,082 crore.