Exclusive: Ather Energy Converts Into A Public Entity As IPO Plans Gather Steam

Taking a major step towards its initial public offering (IPO), electric two-wheeler manufacturer Ather Energy’s board passed a resolution last week, during its annual general meeting, to convert the startup into a public company from private.

Following this, the startup’s name has changed to Ather Energy Ltd from Ather Energy Pvt Ltd earlier, its regulatory filings revealed.

Besides the conversion into a public entity, the startup is also increasing its authorised share capital to INR 50 Cr from INR 93.6 Lakh. It will also issue bonus shares to its shareholders and allot them 2.96 bonus equity shares for every share held. 

The developments come months after it was reported that the electric vehicle (EV) startup roped in HSBC Holdings Plc, Nomura Holdings Inc, and JP Morgan Chase & Co to handle its initial public offering (IPO). Ather Energy was said to be eyeing a listing in the second half of 2024 at a valuation of around $2 Bn.

Earlier this month, Inc42 reported that Ather Energy raised INR 286 Cr through a mix of debt and equity from Stride Ventures and its cofounders. While Stride Ventures invested around INR 200 Cr via debentures, cofounder Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain infused INR 43.28 Cr. 

Besides, Hero MotoCorp acquired an additional 2.2% stake in Ather Energy for INR 124 Cr. Hero MotoCorp bought this stake from Flipkart cofounder Binny Bansal, who exited the startup by selling his entire 7.5% stake. Bansal sold the remaining part of this stake to Zerodha cofounder Nikhil Kamath.

Hero MotorCorp now owns around 40% stake in the EV startup. 

Founded in 2013 by Jain and Mehta, Ather Energy is one of the major players in the Indian electric two-wheeler market. Besides manufacturing and servicing electric two wheelers, the startup also operates its own charging infrastructure and is involved in storage, distribution and management of electric power and other ancillary services.

Ather Energy’s net loss surged 150% to INR 864.5 Cr in FY23 as against INR 344.1 Cr in the previous year. Meanwhile, operating revenue jumped 4.3X year-on-year (YoY) to INR 1,783.6 Cr during the year under review.

Ather Energy closely competes against Bhavish Aggarwal’s Ola Electric, which at the moment is dominating the EV two-wheeler segment in the country. It is pertinent to note that Ola Electric is also looking to go public and received the market regulator SEBI’s approval last week for its INR 5,500+ Cr IPO.