Hero Motocorp-Backed Ather Picks HSBC Holdings, Others As Bankers For IPO

Electric mobility startup Ather Energy has reportedly picked HSBC Holdings Plc, Nomura Holdings Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co to help it for its initial public offering (IPO).

The electric vehicle manufacturer has also selected two domestic players- Axis Bank and JM Financial – for its primary offering. An IPO could take place as soon as the second half of the year in Mumbai, depending on market conditions, Bloomberg reported, citing people close to the matter.

They further said that more banks could be added.

Ather has been selecting banks for a listing that could value it at about $2 Bn, Bloomberg News reported in February. The company could seek to raise as much as $400 Mn in a share sale, though details such as the size and value could change, people familiar with the situation have said.

Ather did not immediately respond to Inc42’s query on the matter.

However, according to Vahan’s data, Ather has been facing a tough time on the sales front as it has been overtaken by Bajaj in the race to grab the third position. In fact, Ather’s EV registrations declined almost 4% to 8,983 units last month from 9,342 units in January. 

To set its foot in the competitive market and boost its market share, the startup is also launching new scooter models. While deliveries of its new 450X escooters are expected to begin from March, Ather recently announced that Ather Rizta is scheduled to launch in April.

The company has also tried to bet on the product price by slashing the price of its 450S escooter variant by INR 20,000 to boost the sale. 

It reported a 150% surge in its net loss in FY23 to INR 864.5 Cr as against a loss of INR 344.1 Cr in FY22, despite a strong growth in its sales. 

This comes at a time when Ather’s competitor Ola Electric filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for an INR 7,250 Cr IPO in December last year. 

While Ather is struggling to cope with the market competition, Ola Electric just bagged a PLI licence for its second product S1 Pro (Gen-2) scooter. With this, Ola Electric is entitled to receive incentives for up to five consecutive financial years, commencing the ongoing one. The incentive would range between 13% and 18% of the determined sales value (DSV) of the products. 

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