Amid Losing Market Share, Bhavish Aggarwal Sells ₹92 Cr Worth of Ola Electric Shares to Repay Debt

Bhavish Aggarwal has sold about 2% of his stake in Ola Electric, using the proceeds to clear a ₹260‑crore promoter‑level loan and remove all share pledges, while remaining the company’s single largest shareholder.​

Aggarwal’s holdings and pledges

• Pre‑sale holding: As of June 2025, Aggarwal owned 1,323,960,029 shares (30.02%) of Ola Electric, making him the top shareholder ahead of SoftBank.​
• Recent pledge build‑up:
  • By early December, he had pledged 13.3% of his holding, including a fresh 3.04% stake pledged on December 5, mainly to raise funds for his separate AI venture Krutrim through loans from Aditya Birla Capital and other lenders.​
  • Earlier pledges were created in Nov 2024 and Feb 2025 with Axis Trustee, Avendus and InCred funds as collateral for Krutrim bonds.​
• Current transaction:
  • Aggarwal has now sold 2,62,56,748 shares (≈2% of equity) at ₹34.99, worth ~₹92 crore.​
  • Along with other personal funds, this is being used to repay a ₹260‑crore promoter loan, leading to the release of all previously pledged 3.93% of shares and making his Ola Electric holding pledge‑free.​
  • Post‑sale holding: about 1,297,703,281 shares (~29.4%).​

The company has framed this as a one‑time, limited monetisation to “eliminate pledge overhang” and reduce perceived promoter‑risk for public shareholders.​

Overall shareholding pattern and recent moves

• Founder–promoter:
  • Bhavish Aggarwal – now ~29.4% (earlier 30.02%).​
• Key institutional holders:
  • SoftBank (SVF II Ostrich DE LLC):
    • Pre‑Sept 2025: 17.83% (786.6M shares).
    • After selling ~94.9M shares (2.15%) between July 15 and Sept 2, 2025, SoftBank holds 15.68% (691.6M shares), still the second‑largest shareholder.​
  • Other pre‑IPO/IPO investors include Temasek, Tiger Global, Matrix Partners, Tata Group entities and others, but updated post‑listing percentages are not fully disclosed in recent articles.​
• Public float:
  • Ola Electric went public in Aug 2024 with a ₹12,291‑crore IPO priced at ₹72–76 per share; it listed on Aug 9, 2024.​
  • As of Aug 2025, the company had a market cap of ~₹15,200 crore with the stock trading around ₹34–35, down sharply from post‑listing highs near ₹100.​

Aggarwal’s repeated pledging for Krutrim had become a major governance talking point; this sale plus loan repayment directly addresses that concern by bringing pledged shares effectively to zero.

Read this: Amid Market Share Loss, Ola Electric Board Approves Rs 1500 Crore Fundraise

Ola Electric’s recent share‑market context

• Stock performance:
  • Market cap: ~₹15,000–15,200 crore;
  • Price: ₹34–35, versus a 52‑week high of ₹100 and low of around ₹33.​
  • The stock has seen volatility tied to:
    • SoftBank’s stake cuts, which triggered 4–7% intraday drops in Sept 2025;​
    • Concerns over Aggarwal’s share pledges for Krutrim;​
    • Slower‑than‑expected EV sales and widening losses.
• Financials snapshot (FY24–FY25 consolidated):
  • Revenue FY25: about ₹3,174 crore.​
  • Net loss FY25: ~₹2,280 crore, with negative ROE and ROCE, reflecting continued capex on the Gigafactory and new models.​

Analysts have generally argued that clearing promoter pledges is positive for the stock’s risk profile, even though the near‑term impact from an on‑market sale of ~2% equity can be mildly dilutive and sentiment‑sensitive.