Hyundai exits India's Ola Electric, Kia cuts stake in $80 million share sale
FILE PHOTO: The Ola company logo is seen on one of its electric scooters, ahead of the company's IPO launch in Mumbai, India, July 29, 2024. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo
Hyundai Motor sold its entire stake in Ola Electric, while rival South Korean carmaker Kia trimmed its holding, in a combined share sale worth 6.89 billion rupees ($80 million), according to exchange data.
Hyundai, which held a 2.47 per cent stake in the company, sold shares at a price of 50.70 rupees, while Kia offloaded 0.6 per cent of Ola Electric shares for 50.55 rupees, the data showed on Tuesday.
Kia held a less than 1 per cent stake in Ola Electric. Its current holding is not known as exchange data does not disclose stakes below 1 per cent.
Ola Electric's shares slumped 8 per cent on Tuesday as both disposals were at a nearly 6 per cent discount to its closing price on Monday.
Hyundai and Kia had invested $300 million in the Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola in 2019 to collaborate on developing electric vehicles and their charging infrastructure.
The disposals come at a time when the company is grappling with slowing sales, regulatory pressure and competition from established two-wheeler makers. Its shares have dropped 46 per cent since going public in August 2024.
The Bengaluru-based company had reported a wider fourth-quarter loss and also forecast a revenue decline in the first quarter of the current fiscal amid steep discounts it has been offering to weather competition.
($1 = 85.8800 Indian rupees)
