Electric two-wheeler manufacturer Ola Electric is set to hold a board meeting on Saturday, October 25 to consider a proposal for raising capital by issuing equity shares or any other eligible securities, according to a stock exalter filing.
The board will evaluate raising funds via methods such as private placement, qualified institutional placement (QIP), preferential issue or a combination of these, subject to regulatory and company shareholders’ approval.
This development comes over a year after Ola Electric raised ₹5,500 crore through a fresh issue in its initial public offering (IPO) in August 2024.
Previous fundraising round
In May this year, the company obtained a nod from the board to raise up to ₹1,700 crore via the issuance of non-convertible debentures and other eligible debt securities, marking its first fundraising since the IPO, The Economic Times reported.
A shareholders’ letter for the first quarter of this financial year stated that the company was well funded for the current and next year. “We are well funded for this year and the next from our June finish cash balance of ₹3,197 crore and we don’t expect anything more necessaryed for operating necessarys,” the letter read.
Share performance and market standing
Ola Electric stock has witnessed a significant decline, falling over 40% from its IPO price of ₹76. On Thursday, the stock closed at ₹53.67 apiece on Bombay Stock Exalter (BSE).
The company has also expanded its portfolio beyond vehicles by launching its first non-vehicle product, Ola Shakti, a battery energy storage system, on October 16.
The Bengaluru-based firm has faced operational and regulatory challenges in recent months, including discrepancies in reported sales, consumer complaints over vehicle quality and missing trade certificates at retail outlets. Additionally, its market share slipped to the fourth spot to 13.2% from 18.7% in August, ET reported.
Controversy linked to suicide
The company is also dealing with a workplace harassment controversy linked to the suicide of a 38-year old employee, K Aravind, who was working with Ola Electric as a Homologation Engineer in Koramangala since 2022.
A handwritten note spanning 28 pages was found from the deceased employee’s room. In the note, he accutilized the company superiors of mental harassment, non-payment of salary and allowances. This allegedly led the Ola employee to die by suicide by consuming poison, Mint reported, citing the suicide note.
Ola Electric declared a first information report (FIR) had been registered and that it had challenged the same at the Karnataka High Court.
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