Ola Electric founder Bhavish Aggarwal pledges 4.32% stake to fund rights issue participation

Ola Electric CEO Bhavish Aggarwal has pledged a 4.32% stake in the Indian electric two-wheeler maker to fund his participation in the company’s proposed rights issue of up to Rs 1,000 crore.

The pledge covers 20 crore Ola Electric shares held by Aggarwal, according to share-pledge disclosures. The shares have been pledged in connection with non-convertible debentures issued by Krutrim Data Centre Private Limited, with CTL Trusteeship Limited named as the trustee.

Ola Electric said the pledge had been created solely to fund Aggarwal’s subscription to the rights issue and that there were currently no other pledges on his securities.

“No shares are being sold. The promoter will invest alongside all other shareholders on the same terms,” the company said in a statement on October 4.

The company has not disclosed the amount being raised against the pledged shares or how much Aggarwal will ultimately invest in the rights issue.

Ola Electric plans rights issue of up to Rs 1,000 crore

Ola Electric’s board approved the proposed rights issue of partly paid-up equity shares on September 28. The company also filed its Draft Letter of Offer on the same day.

According to the draft offer document, about Rs 350 crore of the proceeds are proposed to be used for repayment or prepayment of certain borrowings, while Rs 400 crore has been allocated for organic growth initiatives. The remaining proceeds, after issue-related expenses, are intended for general corporate purposes.

Aggarwal has confirmed that he intends to subscribe to his rights entitlement.

The company said in a September 28 exchange filing that its board would meet on October 5, or after it receives the required in-principle approvals from the stock exchanges or other regulatory authorities, whichever is later, to determine the specific terms of the issue.

These include the rights issue price and payment mechanism, entitlement ratio, record date, timing and other related matters.

A rights issue allows a listed company to raise capital by offering new shares to eligible existing shareholders, usually in proportion to their current holdings.

The fundraising comes after Ola Electric reported a sharp year-on-year decline in revenue in the first quarter of FY27, although its registrations improved substantially from the previous quarter.

Revenue from operations fell about 45% to Rs 455 crore in the quarter ended June 30, 2026, from Rs 828 crore in the same period a year earlier.

Its consolidated net loss narrowed to Rs 336 crore from Rs 428 crore in Q1 FY26, an improvement of about 21.5%.

Follows Rs 780 crore QIP in June

The proposed rights issue follows a QIP completed by Ola Electric in June.

The company allotted 21.76 crore equity shares to QIB at Rs 35.86 per share, raising up to Rs 780.24 crore, according to its June 4 exchange filing.

Aggarwal and the promoter group held a combined 32.97% stake in Ola Electric as of the end of June 2026.

The latest pledge allows Aggarwal to raise funds for his subscription to the rights issue without selling the pledged Ola Electric shares.