With the funding, Hero MotoCorp, which was already the largest shareholder in Ather Energy, holds over 40% of the firm’s total shareholding. The latest funding happened at an inferred valuation of INR 5,636 crore, a premium to the valuation of INR 4,666 crore at which Hero MotoCorp had invested INR 140 crore into the firm in December last year. Hero did not disclose which investor it purchased the shareholding from in the latest funding round.
In the investment filing, Hero MotoCorp pegged Ather’s turnover at INR 1,753 crore for FY24, which was 1.7% lower than the firm’s operating revenue of INR 1,784 crore in FY23. Hero did not provide a loss figure for FY24, while in FY23 Ather’s net loss stood at INR 864 crore.
The investment comes just a week after the company raised INR 286 crore (USD 34 million) from its founders and Stride Ventures in a mix of debt and equity funding. Ather is finalising plans to raise USD 75-90 million (about INR 750 crore) in primary funding from new and existing investors, with the funding round likely to be led by an existing investor, which might value the firm between USD 850 million and USD 1 billion, ET had reported on April 23.
Meanwhile, Flipkart cofounder Sachin Bansal, one of the earliest investors in the firm, had sold a significant part of his holding in the company to Zerodha cofounder Nikhil Kamath, while also looking to sell the remainder of his stake in the firm.
At that time, Bansal held 10.7% in the company, as per Tracxn data, having invested nearly INR 400 crore since 2014. Flipkart cofounder Binny Bansal is also an investor in the company with a 1% stake.
Ather Energy’s new fundraising comes after it postponed funding plans last year citing poor market conditions. Instead, it raised INR 900 crore in September 2023 from Hero MotoCorp and GIC through a rights issue. Ather competes with the likes of Ola Electric, TVS and Bajaj in the electric scooter segment.
On April 6, Ather Energy launched a new range of ‘Rizta’ scooters targeting the family segment. The firm, which has a total production capacity of 450,000 scooters per year, said it would expand production from the current 150,000 vehicles it makes per year after the Rizta hits the market.
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