Ola Electric, India's prominent e-scooter manufacturer, is accelerating its IPO plans and intends to file regulatory papers for its up to $700 million IPO by the end of October. The move comes as the company, backed by investors such as Singapore's Temasek and Japan's SoftBank, seeks to expedite its listing process. Ola Electric recently secured a valuation of $5.4 billion in a recent fundraising round.

In an email sent to its banking and legal advisers, an Ola Electric executive emphasized the importance of meeting a five-week deadline for the IPO. The advisory team includes India's Kotak and ICICI investment banking units, along with international banks like Bank of America and Goldman Sachs. While Ola Electric and Kotak did not respond to requests for comment, the other banks declined to comment. The sources cited in this report requested anonymity due to the internal nature of the communication.

The internal project for Ola's IPO is known as "Project Himalaya," and the memo contained a directive to advisers not to schedule extended leaves to ensure their availability, a rare move in Indian IPO preparations.

Once the IPO documents are submitted, they will undergo review by India's markets regulator, potentially leading to queries and indicating that the actual listing is still several months away.

Ola Electric plans to conduct IPO roadshows in early January or February, according to one of the sources.

While Ola Electric has emerged as India's market leader in e-scooters with a 30 percent market share, the company is not yet profitable. In the fiscal year ending March 2023, it reported an operating loss of $136 million on revenue of $335 million. Founder Bhavish Aggarwal has positioned Ola Electric as an affordable electric mobility solution for the masses, distinguishing it from high-end electric vehicle manufacturers like Tesla.