Hitching a ride: Hyundai may invest $250-300 million for 4% stake in Ola

The deal, if it goes through, would be part of Ola's ongoing fund-raising round where it is looking to raise $400-500 million at a $6-billion valuation

In what could be one of the first major investments by an auto company in a ride-hailing firm, Korean auto giant Hyundai is reportedly in talks with Ola to pick up a four per cent stake in the firm for $250-300 million.

The deal, if it goes through, would be part of Ola's ongoing fund-raising round where the Bengaluru-based company is looking to raise $400-500 million at a $6-billion valuation. The deal would also help Hyundai increase its fleet of vehicles operating in the country.

The auto firm had in November invested $250 million in Singaporean ride-hailing company Grab. It appears that Hyundai along with other auto firms such as Mahindra and Mahindra, Ford and Toyota is betting on ride-hailing firms such as Ola, Uber and Lyft to increase sales. According to data released by SIAM on Friday, domestic passenger vehicle sales declined 1.11 per cent to 272,284 units in February from 275,346 units in the same month the previous year.

Ola's previous tie-ups 

In January, Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal also invested Rs 150 crore in Ola as part of the first tranche of the total Rs 650 crore-investment.  

The ongoing Series J funding round is primarily subscribed by London-based investor Steadview Capital. Prior to Bansal's investment, Steadview Capital had invested Rs 520 crore in Ola.