Aggarwal pledges 2% of Ola Electric for group firm’s loan

This is the 3rd time Aggarwal has pledged stake in Ola Electric since company’s IPO last August

- Ayaan Kartik

Bhavish Aggarwal, chairman and managing director, Ola Electric.

(REUTERS)

Bhavish Aggarwal, chairman and managing director (CMD) of Ola Electric Mobility Ltd, pledged an additional 2% of his stake in the listed company during the September quarter to raise loans for an unnamed group company. This is the third time Aggarwal has pledged his Ola Electric shares since the company went public in August 2024.

Mint’s review of Bengaluru-based Ola Electric’s shareholding pattern and disclosures to the exchanges showed that Aggarwal put up the additional stake as collateral for a loan from Aditya Birla Capital Ltd. The company did not disclose the size of the loan or the group company it was meant for. With this, just over a tenth of Aggarwal’s 30.02% stake in Ola Electric has been pledged.

Pledging shares—using them as collateral— is a method promoters use to raise money for their ventures. Typically in these arrangements, the promoter must transfer the pledged shares to the lender if the company is unable to repay the loans on time. Promoters of companies such as Vedanta have previously pledged their entire stakes to raise funding for their ventures.