A firm backed by Canadian alternate asset management firm Brookfield Asset Management Inc and another by New York-based investment firm Tiger Global Management LLC Monday received approvals from the Securities and Exchange Board of India for their respective initial public offer (IPO).
The SEBI issued its observations, akin to its approval, to the IPO proposals of electric two-wheeler manufacturer Ather Energy Ltd, which is backed by global private equity firm Tiger Global. It also gave observations on Schloss Bangalore Ltd’s IPO plan, which is the parent company of luxury hotel chain 'The Leela' and is backed by Brookfield.
Ather Energy had filed its draft offer document on September 11 and aims to raise Rs 3,100 crore from a fresh issue of shares in addition to an offer for sale of 22 million shares.
Apart from some promoters and individuals offloading their shares in the OFS, Caladium Investment Pte and India's quasi-sovereign wealth fund National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) will also sell some of their shares.
In August this year, NIIF had invested $71 million (Rs 596 crore then) in Ather Energy. VCCircle had reported, citing sources, that the latest funding round had valued the electric vehicle startup at about $1.3 billion.
Last year, Ather had bagged $108 million from two-wheeler major Hero MotoCorp and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC. Hero MotoCorp, its largest shareholder, also raised its stake by 3 percentage points in December, investing $16.9 million in the company. Tiger Global holds approximately 36.13% in the company.
From the IPO proceeds, Ather Energy will use Rs 927 crore as capital expenditure for setting up an electric two-wheeler factory in Maharashtra, Rs 378 crore for prepaying or repaying debt obligations, Rs 750 for research and development, and Rs 300 crore for marketing initiatives, the company had said in its draft offer document.
Meanwhile, Schloss Bangalore—the owning entity of The Leela—is looking to raise Rs 3,000 through a fresh issue of shares and an offer for sale of Rs 2,000 crore by Project Ballet Bangalore Holdings (DIFC) Pvt. Ltd. Project Ballet is Brookfield Asset Management’s investment vehicle and currently owns almost 100% of Schloss Bangalore.
Schloss Bangalore will use Rs 2,700 crore of the net proceeds from the IPO to repay or prepay their borrowings in addition to corporate requirements.