Hero MotoCorp joins Gogoro's PIPE investment, bringing it up to $285 million

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India's largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp has joined Gogoro and Poema Global Holdings PIPE (private investment in public equity) investment, along with activist and impact investment firm Engine No. 1, bringing the total funding to $285 million, up from $257 million.

Gogoro, the Taiwanese company best known for its electric Smart scooters and swappable battery infrastructure, will soon be going public through a merger with Poema Global, the special purpose acquisition company in Q1 2022.  Upon the transaction closing, the combined company will be named Gogoro Inc and will be listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol 'GGR' and 'GGRW'.

The oversubscribed PIPE  round, which includes investors like Foxconn (Hon Hai), GoTo, Temasek, Generation Investment Management and others, comes to Gogoro in addition to the $345 million coming from Poema Global.

Also Read: Hero MotoCorp stake in Ather energy to go up by 1-3% post its Rs 420 crore investment

“This additional funding, in addition to our recent F-4 filing, keeps us on track for closing in Q1,” said Bruce Aitken, the chief financial officer of Gogoro, in a statement. “We have three investor groups in our PIPE. Existing investors who wanted to continue to support our vision, new strategic investors who can help us scale and new institutional investors. Adding Hero MotoCorp and Engine No. 1 continues to validate our strategy and plans. Hero MotoCorp is a key OEM and expansion partner and Engine No. 1 will provide strategic guidance on how environmental impact can drive economic value.”

Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Hero MotoCorp Pawan Munjal said that the investment is in line with the firm's vision 'Be the Future of Mobility'. "We are already partnering with Gogoro to bring modern electric vehicles and its battery-swapping network to India and other global markets," he added.  The amount invested is undisclosed by both the firms.

In April last year, Gogoro partnered with Hero MotoCorp to build a joint battery-swapping network in India. HeroMotoCorp will also launch electric two-wheelers using Gogoro technology under its own brand.

The capital will also help Gogoro ensure momentum as it scales into new markets. The company has accumulated over $1 billion in revenue and over 450,000 battery swapping subscribers over the past five years.

This is Hero MotoCorp's second big investment in the last two weeks, the first being its further investment of Rs 420 crore in Ather Energy.