The Japanese investment giant SoftBank Group has recently been in the news due to shedding its investment in the Indian company that produces electric vehicles, Ola Electric Mobility Ltd. This was done by a set of open-market sales, which constituted a minor, but significant part of its total position in the company. Recent regulatory disclosures submitted to the stock exchanges show that this was done by the investment arm of SoftBank, SVF II Ostrich (DE). The sales of the equity shares were carried out within a period of several months between September 3, 2025, and January 5, 2026, and were approximately 9.5 crore. This cumulative sale had the potential of about 2.15% of Ola Electric’s total equity, an indication of a strategic change in the giant portfolio of SoftBank in the Indian startup ecosystem.
Financial details and promoter actions
The financials of this sale of stakes give a clear idea of the valuation in the market against the point at which SoftBank first entered the market. The SoftBank vehicle had initially bought a huge portfolio of 81 crore shares in the electric scooter and motorcycle manufacturer at an average share price of ₹50.94. The new sale was during a period when the share was selling between ₹39 and ₹40, which means that the Japanese conglomerate decided to sell the shares at a lower price than its cost when purchasing them.
Before these dealings, SVF II Ostrich owned 69.16 crore shares, and the amount corresponded to an interest of 15.68% in the firm. Its ownership has formally reduced to 59.7 crore shares after the divestment, which constitutes 13.53% of the total equity share capital of Ola Electric. This decrease notwithstanding, SoftBank remains one of the highest shareholders in the company and still enjoys a long-term relationship with the electric vehicle innovator despite selling 9.5 crore shares.
The sale by SoftBank is not an isolated case because other significant investors have been repositioning themselves in Ola Electric. Only last month, a venture capital company, Z47, which was previously called Matrix Partners India, fully exited the electric vehicle manufacturer. Z47 is a long-term investment in Ola, and its exit is the first to be completed in a funding round that the company co-led with Tiger Global in 2019.
Reporting shows that the company had been gradually decreasing its holdings since the last quarter of 2024. As of the first quarter of fiscal year 2026, Z47 had a stake of 1.93% compared to the 2.79% stake that it had in the company after the initial public offering in August 2024. This move toward institutional reshuffling indicates an era of change in the cap table of the company, as the original investors are looking to get liquid or reweigh their own exposures to the EV industry.
Besides institutional movements, share transactions have also been practiced by the company leadership. Recently, Ola Electric founder Bhavish Aggarwal disposed of 2.6 crore shares of the company in a bulk purchase, which valued the company at about ₹91 crore. This sale was approximately 0.6% of the company’s equity and was done at an average price of ₹34.99 per share.
The company explained that this particular sale was done in order to settle a loan of promoter level worth ₹260 crore. This is a strategic step that will prompt the release of shares that were earlier pledged by the promoter, and this move is likely to stabilize the structure of ownership. By September, Aggarwal had a 30.02% stake, and this recent deal was a purposeful move to meet personal financial requirements that are associated with the expansion of the firm.
Market performance
These different sales of stake in the market have been fluctuating. After the news of selling the founder stake, the share price of Ola Electric dropped to the lowest ever mark of ₹31.26 per share. This negative trend was after a painful year in which the share had begun the year 2025 at ₹86.40 per share, continually being pressured by the regulatory watchfulness and a declining market share.
The narrative started changing in January 2026 when the price regained momentum to around ₹39.66 per share. This has been recovered due to rebounded market share and optimistic operational statistics. In December, Ola Electric recorded an increase in registrations, and its market share increased to 9.3%, which indicates that the company is back on track despite the madcap share sales by key stakeholders and the founder.
Conclusion
The SoftBank partial withdrawal highlights a season of reevaluation of Ola Electric in the mature markets. Although the Japanese investment company has achieved a sale of lesser price than its initial expenditure in the company, it is still a major stakeholder of the company. Combined with the total departure of initial investors such as Z47 and the attempts of the promoter to repay the debts by selling shares into the market, the company is experiencing a major transformation in its investor base.
Although the share price has been fluctuating and the company has been going through tough times in 2025, the recent market share and stock price recovery indicate that Ola Electric has a strong standing in the competitive Indian electric vehicle market.
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