Vanguard slashes Ola's valuation by another 29% to $1.88 billion

Third markdown by US firm since February 2023

The US-based investment management firm Vanguard has adjusted the valuation of the mobility company Ola to $1.88 billion. This represents the third markdown in the valuation of the firm led by Bhavish Aggarwal by Vanguard since February 2023.

According to regulatory filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Vanguard has revised Ola’s parent company, ANI Technologies, to $1.88 billion as of November 30, 2023. This is a 29 per cent decrease from its previous fair value of $2.65 billion as of August 31 last year.

Vanguard’s latest fair value of $1.88 billion is 74 per cent lower than the last valuation at which the company raised funds.

In February last year, Vanguard marked down the valuation of ANI Technologies by about 34 per cent to $4.8 billion from $7.3 billion. Later, Vanguard further reduced its holding by another 52.7 per cent to $3.5 billion in its July disclosure.

Vanguard holds about a 0.7 per cent stake in the ride-hailing firm. The company did not comment on the valuation slash by Vanguard.

In December 2021, the mobility platform raised about $139 million from a few investors, including IIFL, Edelweiss, and Sunil Munjal-led Hero Enterprise. This information is based on regulatory documents sourced from the business intelligence platform Tofler. Ola had been valued at about $7.3 billion at that time.

Ola recently announced that its India mobility business turned earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) positive in 2022-23 (FY23), making it one of the few Indian internet companies to achieve this feat.

For the consolidated entity, revenue from operations and other income for FY23 stood at Rs 3,000 crore compared to Rs 2,120 crore in 2021-22 (FY22). The Ebitda loss for the consolidated entity, excluding discontinued business, was reduced to Rs 29 crore in FY23 from Rs 291 crore in FY22.

ANI Technologies standalone (Ola’s India mobility business) total revenue has gone up by 48 per cent in FY23 to Rs 2,135 crore from Rs 1,350 crore in FY22. Total revenue includes revenue from operations and other income. It achieved segment-adjusted Ebitda of Rs 250 crore in FY23.

This is not the first time Vanguard has marked down the valuation of the Bengaluru-based firm. In 2017, Vanguard marked down Ola’s valuation by 40 per cent, indicating a valuation of about $3 billion, down from the company’s $5 billion when it last raised $500 million in November 2015.

Vanguard later marked up the valuation in subsequent months. The firm reportedly cut the value of its investment by 45 per cent between December 2019 and June 2020 and 9.5 per cent in 2021, reducing Ola’s valuation from over $6 billion to around $3 billion.

In 2022, Ola shut down its in-cab infotainment service. The same year, it also closed its used vehicles business Ola Cars and its quick-commerce unit Ola Dash, which promised 10-minute food delivery. It repurposed the infrastructure and capabilities of the Ola Cars business towards boosting the Ola Electric sales and service network. The company shut down Ola Cars within a year of its launch as it shifted focus to its electric two-wheeler and car verticals. Ola shut down Ola Café, Foodpanda, Ola Foods, and Ola Dash.