Ola eyes turnaround with new battery storage
Ola Electric Mobility Ltd.’s blockbuster initial stock offering last year had investors clamoring to buy over four times the number of shares publicly available. Now, it’s struggling to find backers despite a new bet on home battery storage.Beset with shrinking market share, relentless cash burn and a nearly 53% plunge in share price this year, the SoftBank Group Corp.-backed electric scooter maker has been turned down by multiple financiers in recent months, said people familiar with the matter who did not want to be identified as the discussions were private. Talks with some investors are ongoing, they added. Investors are balking at joining the company’s new 15-billion-rupee ($168 million) fundraising plan given the Indian EV maker’s deteriorating sales and financial health. Lenders have also shied away from a 17-billion-rupee debt-raise plan that was approved by the company board in May, the people said.Now, Chairman and Founder Bhavish Aggarwal is pinning his hopes for a quick turnaround on a plan to sell batteries to homeowners in need of a backup power source.The pivot comes after the loss-making firm saw a 43% drop in revenue and 47% plunge in sales in the latest quarterly results this month, underlining the scale of Ola’s troubles.