Ola said on Thursday evening it has reached an agreement to acquire Avail Finance, a financial services startup that serves blue-collared workforce, as the ride-hailing giant looks to expand its financial services offerings.
The two startups did not disclose the terms of the deal. Avail Finance had raised about $38.5 million (including about $4.5 million in venture debt) across multiple rounds and was valued at $86.6 million, according to insight platform Tracxn.
It’s worth noting that Ola co-founder and chief executive Bhavish Aggarwal and Avail Finance founder and chief executive Ankush Aggarwal are brothers. The two companies share Alpha Wave Global and Matrix Partners as major common investors. The deal is seeking approval from shareholders.
Ola said the acquisition will help the startup “strengthen its play in the credit underserved segments that comprise blue-collar workers such as Ola’s driver-partner ecosystem.” That play includes cross-selling “multiple lending products” to its driver partners, it added.
More to follow…
