Ola Electric Shares In Focus After Founder Bhavish Aggarwal's Rs 92 Crore Stake Sale
Bhavish Aggarwal, the chairman and managing director of an electric two-wheeler company, has sold 2.6 crore equity shares in a bulk deal on the National Stock Exchange
Ola Electric Mobility Ltd. shares will be in focus on Wednesday following the bulk deal on Tuesday, where founder Bhavish Aggarwal sold over 2.6 crore shares, approximately 0.6% of the equity worth around Rs 92 crore.
The company clarified that this was a one-time, limited monetisation of Aggarwal's personal stake to repay a promoter-level loan of Rs 260 crore fully.
The key takeaway is that this action will result in the release of all previously pledged shares (amounting to 3.93%), which the company framed as a move to "eliminate all promoter pledges" and reduce perceived risk.
Bhavish Aggarwal, the chairman and managing director of an electric two-wheeler company, has sold 2.6 crore equity shares in a bulk deal on the National Stock Exchange. The shares were sold at Rs 34.99 each, but the buyers couldn't be identified. After the sale, Aggarwal still holds a significant stake in the company.
As of September, Aggarwal held a 30.02% stake in the company. A portion of his shares, 10.11%, is pledged with lenders, and 66.63% are locked in. This recent sale is part of Aggarwal's personal transactions, and the company has clarified that it's a one-time monetisation to repay a promoter-level loan of Rs 260 crore.
It should be noted that Aggarwal had previously sold 3.8 crore shares in an initial public offering (IPO) last August at Rs 76 per share.
Ola Electric is not expected to see further promoter pledges as the current one was done to seed fund AI startup Krutrim, which has re-emerged as a cloud infra player with positive cash flows.
The monetisation does not result in any dilution of promoter control and reflects the founder's long-term commitment to Ola Electric's strategy of building a vertically integrated, India-led electric mobility and clean energy platform, sources added.
Typically, promoter share pledges act as a potential source of volatility and margin-related risk. The complete elimination of pledged shares removes a critical overhang and materially strengthens the company's risk profile.
The move was executed at the promoter level and does not involve Ola Electric as a company. It's unlikely to have any impact on the company's electric mobility business, day-to-day operations, management, governance framework, financial position or long-term strategic plans.
With this, Ola Electric's founder joins a list of promoters, including those at Apollo Hospitals and Hindustan Zinc, who exercised limited stake monetisation to release share pledges during this financial year.
(with inputs from PTI)
