The Cofounder of Flipkart, Sachin Bansal is planning to finalize the largest personal investment in the Indiam Internet space as he is planning to close the funds up to $100 million i.e. nearly Rs. 740 crore in a ride hailing company Ola.
The total capital commitment for the transportation app OLA will come up to 10 times more than his personal wealth which he has achieved from the Flipkart-Walmart deal this year. Sachin Bansal alongwith Raicky Bansal exited the company and sold his entire shareholding of 5.5 per cent in Flipkart to Walmart.
The share sale which closed in August, was pocketed with Sachin Bansal for around $1 billion where the US retail giant picked up the controlling stake of almost 77per cent in ecommerce retailing. Bansal has been an active investor in the local startups from 2014.
Bansal’s investment in Ola will be broadly through the Ola shares with the small component with the secondary sale by the existing investors. The valuation on Ola ranges between $3 billion and $4.5 billion through secondary and primary transaction those have take place previously and the deal is expected to be the same.
The Uber rival that has stepped up the expansion in the international markets and has stated that it would be raising another $1 billion right after it has racked up $1.1 billion from China’s Tencent and other existing investors those include Softbank.
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Among the leading names in the startup ecosystem, Bansal and the CEO of Ola Bhavesh Aggarwal are in close relationship from the past few years. The two founders later banded with other local startups and entrepreneurs to launch an industry group called Indiatech. Bansal, though, has stepped down as a founding member of Indiatech after Flipkart’s acquisition by Walmart.
Bansal’s entry in Ola as a shareholder presents another ally to Aggarwal, who has been locked in a battle for control against the largest shareholder in the company, Japan’s SoftBank.
Temasek, the soveign wealth fund of Singapore has picked up secondary stake in Ola that is strucutured with a special purpose vehicle. Bansal is focusing also on investments in areas including financial technology such as lending and insurance, people familiar with his investment strategy said.
“He wants to take large stakes in a few early-stage companies where he can play a more active role from the start,” said a person who has interacted with Bansal, but did not have knowledge of the Ola investment.
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