Hyundai, Kia’s $300 Million Funding In Ola And Its Electric Arm Gets CCI Nod

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Wednesday approved a proposed $300 million investment in homegrown ride-hailing platform Ola and its electric mobility subordinate from Korean automakers Kia Motors and Hyundai Motor.

The CCI declared its approval for the foreign investment in ANI Technologies, which operates the platform, and OLA Electric Mobility through a tweet. No notice of the approval was posted on the website of CCI till press time on Wednesday.

Mostly the new investment will be ploughed into Ola’s parent entity, ANI Technologies. Hyundai and its affiliate, Kia, will also take a minority share in Ola Electric.

The deal was at risk as the regulator initially deemed it invalid after ANI Technologies failed to provide details of the impact of the proposed combination on competition in the ride-hailing space as requested by the regulator. The companies afterwards refiled a modified proposal in September.

In March, Ola said it was raising $300 million from the Hyundai Group to create an India-specific fleet, mobility solutions and infrastructure.

Last year, the South Korean automaker infused $275 million in Grab, a Singapore-based ride-hailing firm.

Ola and Microsoft have been working together since 2017 to build connected vehicle platform Ola Play.