According to a new prospectus draft filed on Tuesday, Ather Energy, an Indian startup-manufactured electric motorcycle, reduced the size of its initial public offering from 18% to Indian rupee of 26.26 billion ($308.3 million).
The Bengaluru-based startup has confirmed that it is targeting TechCrunch with a $1.4 billion money valuation. In September last year, the startup sought a valuation of between $1.5 billion and $2 billion, TechCrunch reported at the time.
Ather cited market conditions for trimming IPO sizes and target ratings.
Existing Ather shareholders will sell 11.1 million shares from the 22 million shares mentioned in last year’s draft prospectus. Ather stock bids will open for three days starting April 28th. Anchor investors are scheduled to participate in a private placement on April 25th.
According to the prospectus, Ather co-founders Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain, as well as National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited (NIIF) and Tiger Global Management’s Internet Fund III plan to offload the IPO’s stock. However, Motocorp, an Indian motorcycle hero who owns more than 40% of the startup, does not sell any stocks.
Ather said it would use Indian rupee of 9.27 billion ($108.8 million) from its net revenue to install an electric two-wheel facility in Maharashtra. Another Rs 7.5 billion ($88 million) will be invested in research and development, with a marketing initiative of Rs 3 billion ($35.2 million) being invested. The startup will also use Indian rupee of 400 million ($4.7 million) to repay the borrowings.
The startup saw a 21% increase in sales in 2024, reaching 126,353 units, according to government data. According to the Crisil report mentioned in the draft prospectus, it ordered a market share of 10.7% that year.
Founded in 2013, Ather launched its first electric motorcycle in 2018. The startup generated revenue of Rs 157.9 billion ($185.4 million) over the nine months ended in December, reporting a net loss of Rs 157.9 billion ($185.4 million) in India’s rupee ($67.8 million) ($911 million).
Aterel rival Ola Electric, which holds a market share of 34.1% last year, was listed on the Indian stock exchange last year. Ola debuted with a record 20% surge, the largest list by Indian companies in two years. However, the share price has since dropped nearly 42%, closing at INR 53.02 on Tuesday.