Two-wheeler major Hero MotoCorp said on September 4 that it has got the board's approval to invest Rs 550 crore into electric two-wheeler maker Ather Energy, in which it is an existing investor.
"The Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on September 4, 2023, has approved an investment of up to INR 550 crore (Rupees five hundred fifty crores), in the Rights issue of Ather Energy Private Limited," The NSE filing by Hero MotoCorp said.
This comes at a time when the EV maker was looking to close a funding round before its IPO listing plans.
Industry sources said that Ather Energy is mulling an IPO by 2024.
"Profitability is key for us and we will only then look at an IPO. The market condition should also be right and we will have to turn profitable to think about that. Our sales numbers are great, demand is growing and we are very bullish on the segment we operate in," Tarun Mehta, cofounder and chief executive officer of Ather said in an exclusive interaction with Moneycontrol in January.
In October of 2022, Ather Energy raised $50 million in equity funding led by its existing investor Caladium Investment Pte Ltd with participation from Navam Capital-backed Herald Square Ventures.
As per Industry sources, Ather was valued at $700 million during its last fundraise in October and was looking to raise another round which would have given a unicorn status to the EV firm.
Founded in 2013 by Mehta and Swapnil Jain, Ather manufactures two electric scooters - the Ather 450X and the Ather 450 Plus and Ather 450S.
The EV firm has a manufacturing facility in Hosur in Tamil Nadu and inaugurated its second facility in the same district recently. The Bengaluru-based firm is looking to take its capacity to nearly 15 lakh units per annum from the current 4.2 lakh units.
Ather Energy sold around 6,835 units, up 2 percent from July’s 6,671 units. The Bengaluru-based EV maker is looking to double its market share to about 30-40 percent over the next few years with the launch of its affordable 450S scooter in the 125cc category.
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