Synopsis
Funds managed by US investment giant Vanguard have slashed the fair value of ride-hailing platform Ola’s parent, ANI Technologies, to $70 million as of February 28, according to regulatory filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).Listen to this article in summarized format
Vanguard’s latest markdown comes close on the heels of Ola’s continued loss of market share in the ride-hailing segment, where it has been ceding ground to WestBridge Capital-backed urban mobility startup Rapido.
ANI Technologies reported a 42% decline in revenues to Rs 1,171 crore for the financial year ended March 2025, according to numbers released last month. Its net loss widened to Rs 662.4 crore from Rs 328.7 crore a year earlier.
According to filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC), Ola’s board has approved plans for an initial public offering (IPO). The company said its “management believes the company has sufficient resources, including liquid investment in listed entities and strategic plans in place to meet its financial obligations and continue its operations for the foreseeable future”.
Notably, while Vanguard values ANI Technologies at roughly $70 million, the company’s 3.6% stake in electric two-wheeler maker Ola Electric is worth about $73 million per Wednesday’s market value and foreign exchange rate.
The development was first reported by Entrackr.
Debt overhang
In November last year, ratings agency Moody’s downgraded ANI Technologies’ credit rating and assigned it a negative outlook citing weakening operating performance, which was putting pressure on its liquidity and increasing the risk of a breach of loan covenants.
In December 2021, Ola raised $500 million through a term loan from global institutional investors to fund expansion across multiple businesses, including quick commerce. The company has since exited the quick commerce segment.
Moody’s noted that Ola had around $90 million in cash as of March 2025, but warned that this would “fall substantially short” of meeting debt servicing obligations and capital expenditure requirements through December 2026.
Separately, Ola Electric, which listed in August 2024 at a valuation of more than Rs 35,000 crore, is raising fresh capital through a qualified institutional placement at a price nearly 50% below its listing valuation. Part of the proceeds will be used to repay borrowings of Ola Electric and its subsidiaries, which totalled Rs 2,521 crore as of May 20.
Valuation slide
The value of Vanguard’s holding in ANI Technologies has fallen sharply over the past few years. As recently as November 30, the stake was valued at $90 million. Vanguard had marked Ola’s valuation at $1.9 billion in November 2023 and $2.6 billion in August 2023.
The Bhavish Aggarwal-led company last raised external funding in December 2021, securing $139 million in a round led by Edelweiss PE, that valued Ola at $7.3 billion.
Crossover funds such as Vanguard, which invest in both public and private companies, periodically reassess the value of their portfolio holdings. The fair value of private companies is determined using a range of factors, including operating performance, broader macroeconomic conditions and the market performance of comparable listed peers.
