SoftBank, the largest shareholder in Ola Cabs, is planning to hike its stake in the cab aggregator to 60 percent to strengthen its position on the board, sources say. To achieve this, the Japanese firm is in talks with Tiger Global for its 20 percent stake for an estimated valuation of USD 650-700 million.
This will raise Ola’s total valuation to USD 3.5 billion, slightly higher than USD 3-3.2 billion in 2016.
But, it might not be a smooth ride for SoftBank.
SoftBank – which has a single seat on the board – will need approval of all board members to buy Tiger Global’s stake. However, if SoftBank gets the approval, it could get another seat on the board as its stake crosses 50 percent.
While SoftBank and Tiger Global were unavailable for a comment, Ola Cabs is yet to respond to CNBC-TV18’s query.
