According to two persons familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity, Bengaluru-based electric 2-wheeler company Ather Energy has begun negotiations with investment banks to explore the possibility of going public in the near future.
Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain created Ather, one of India’s premier electric two-wheeler startups, in 2013.
“In recent weeks, Ather has met with a number of large domestic and international investment banks to discuss the potential of an IPO. These are preliminary discussions, and they’re trying to figure out what kind of valuations they can expect if they go forward with an IPO in the coming quarters, possibly as soon as the end of the year, but most likely in the first part of next calendar year,” said the first individual mentioned above.
“Because the talks are still in the early stages, it’s feasible that Aether will opt out of an IPO at this time, given the present market conditions.” In recent market declines triggered by rising interest rates in the US and other major nations, tech stocks have taken a beating, and investors aren’t very enthusiastic about tech IPOs right now. However, other consumer-focused firms, such as Ather, have begun discussions with banks about their IPO intentions,” the first individual stated.
According to an Ather spokeswoman, the company has no intentions to go public this year.
Ather raised $128 million in a Series E round of funding last month from National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Ltd.’s Strategic Opportunities Fund and Hero MotoCorp, a major shareholder in the company, valuing it at little under $1 billion. The money will be used to expand manufacturing facilities, research and development, charging infrastructure, and the company’s retail network, according to the company.
“After a great start to the year, the company delivered 3,779 units to customers in April 2022, setting a new monthly sales record. The Ather 450X, Ather Energy’s flagship product, is seeing a 25% increase in booking orders quarter over quarter. Ather Energy already has a strong retail sales network across the country, with 38 Experience Centres in 32 towns and plans to expand to 150 Experience Centres in 100 cities by 2023” according to a news release announcing the fundraise.
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