Ola raises $250mn from SoftBank in a down round

Ola raised $250 million in fresh funding from Japanese telecom and internet major SoftBank last year, as per the documents filed with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). However, the company is yet to make an official announcement of the same.

According to the documents, SoftBank through its subsidiary SIMI Pacific Pte Ltd invested Rs 1,675 crore or approximately $250 million in Ola's parent company ANI Technologies in November 2016.

Apparently, the reason behind not disclosing the news could be that cab-aggregator raised money from investors at a valuation lower than its previous round of fund-raising.

Some reports suggest that the round is still open. Ola is seeking to raise another $100 million from Ratan Tata's RNT Capital and Falcon Edge in a deal which could move up its valuation to $3.5 billion from present $3 billion.

According to Livemint report, investors are fearful of  backing an Uber rival, which is currently the most deep-pocketed start-up in India’s cab hailing market. Investors are also doubtful about the viability of the cab hailing business in India.

Ola has so far raised a little over $1.4 billion, which includes the latest round, $500 million in a Series F round from Scottish investment firm Baillie Gifford, China’s Didi Chuxing and other investors in November 2015; $400 million in a Series E round led by DST Global in April 2015; and $210 million in its Series D round led by SoftBank in October 2014.