Bhavish Aggarwal Sells Rs 92 Crore Worth of Ola Electric Shares

Bhavish Aggarwal, founder and promoter of Ola Electric Mobility Ltd., sold shares valued at Rs 92 crore on Tuesday through open market transactions.

According to bulk deal data available on the National Stock Exchange, Aggarwal, who serves as the chairman and managing director of the electric two-wheeler manufacturer, divested 2.6 crore equity shares at a price of Rs 34.99 per share. The identities of the buyers in this transaction remain undisclosed.

As of September, Aggarwal held a 30.02% stake in Ola Electric. According to BSE shareholding data, 10.11% of this stake was pledged with lenders, while 66.63% was subject to a lock-in period.

It's worth noting that Bhavish Aggarwal previously sold 3.8 crore shares through an IPO in August of the previous year, priced at Rs 76 per share.

Ola Electric characterized Tuesday's transaction as "a one-time, limited monetisation" of a small portion of Aggarwal's personal stake. The purpose of this sale is to fully repay a promoter-level loan amounting to Rs 260 crore.

In a statement, Ola Electric stated that this move will lead to the release of the previously pledged 3.93% of shares, eliminating a significant overhang. Following the transaction, the promoter group is expected to retain approximately 34% of Ola Electric, which is considered among the highest for new-age listed companies.

The company emphasized that the deal does not dilute promoter control and is intended to "eliminate all promoter pledges, which can introduce avoidable risk and volatility."

Ola Electric further clarified that this transaction is driven by the founder's belief that Ola Electric should operate without any pledge overhang and that he should completely unwind the leverage. The transaction is being conducted entirely at the promoter’s personal level and will not impact Ola Electric’s operations, governance, or strategic direction.