Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, Ratan Tata has acquired stake in taxi hailing company Ola. However, the company did not give any details about Mr. Tata’s investment or stake which he has acquired.
The company said the investment was in his personal capacity.
In October last year, Ola raised around $200 million from Japan’s Softbank, one of the largest deal in the Indian taxi services business. Apart from Softbank, Ola has raised capital from Tiger Global, Matrix Partners India and Steadview Capital. Recently, Ola acquired TaxiForSure, India’s second largest cab aggregator.
Commenting on the investment by Mr. Tata, Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO and Co-founder of Ola said, “It is our honour to have Mr. Tata on-board as an investor. This is a huge endorsement from one of the most respected business leaders of our times and reflects Ola’s commitment towards the future of mobility in India. We look forward to learning from Mr. Tata’s experience that will help us build a world class organisation from India.”
Recently, Mr. Tata has been a very active investor in the start-up story of India and has made investment in various e-commerce companies. He had earlier invested in companies like Snapdeal, Cardekho, online jewellery retailer Blustone and furniture marketplace Urban Ladder.
“Ola is revolutionising transportation today and creating significant value for citizens and lasting social impact for driver-partners, will stand to benefit from Mr. Tata’s endorsement and guidance going forward in a big way,” the company said in a press release.
In March this year, Mr. Tata had invested an undisclosed amount in mobile commerce company Paytm and also wind-energy start-up Altaeros. Later in April, Mr. Tata also invested in Chinese mobile handset maker Xiaomi. In June, he acquired stake in Kaaryah, a fashion portal for women’s wear, by investing an undisclosed amount.
In December 2012, Mr. Tata retired as the head of India’s largest business conglomerate, Tata Group and currently serves as chairman emeritus of Tata Sons.
