Electric two-wheeler maker Ather Energy has approved a preferential issue worth Rs 1,200 crore, with existing investor Hero MotoCorp committing nearly Rs 960 crore and the India-Japan Fund (IJF) investing Rs 200 crore, according to a stock exchange filing. The India-Japan Fund (IJF) is a bilateral private equity fund backed by the Government of India and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), and managed by the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF). The board approved the issuance of 16.26 lakh equity shares to the NIIF-managed India-Japan Fund at Rs 1,230 per share, aggregating Rs 200 crore. Moreover, Ather will issue 79.36 lakh convertible warrants worth Rs 1,000 crore to Hero MotoCorp, co-founders Tarun Mehta, and Swapnil Jain. Of the total warrant issue, Hero MotoCorp will subscribe to 76.19 lakh warrants for Rs 960 crore, while Mehta and Jain will invest Rs 20 crore each through 1.58 lakh warrants apiece. The warrants have been priced at Rs 1,260 each and can be converted into equity shares within 18 months from the date of allotment. Investors will pay 25% of the issue price upfront, with the remaining amount payable at the time of conversion. Following the allotment and on a fully diluted basis, Hero MotoCorp’s stake in Ather will increase to 30.68% from 29.48%, while the India-Japan Fund’s holding will rise to 6.02% from 5.75%. The shareholding of founders Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain will stand at 4.85% each. The development comes a day after Hero MotoCorp has approved an additional investment of up toRs 1,000 crorein electric two-wheeler maker Ather's proposedRs 2,500 crorequalified institutional placement (QIP). Ather Energy touched an all-time high of Rs 1,313.8 on Wednesday before closing at Rs 1,299 on the NSE. At the closing price, the EV maker commanded a market capitalization of Rs 49,792 crore. Bareback Media has recently raised funding from a group of investors. Some of the investors may directly or indirectly be involved in a competing business or might be associated with other companies we might write about. This shall, however, not influence our reporting or coverage in any manner whatsoever. You may find a list of our investorshere.
