RAISES RS 300 CR FROM ANCHOR INVESTORS AHEAD OF IPO

O P Munjal Holdings-owned automotive components manufacturer Hero Motors has raised Rs 300 crore from 15 anchor investors ahead of its initial public offering, which opens for subscription on September 16. The company allotted 3.57 crore equity shares to anchor investors at the upper end of the IPO price band of Rs 79-84 per share on September 15. The public issue will remain open until September 18. The Rs 1,000-crore IPO comprises a fresh issue of shares worth up to Rs 600 crore, while promoters O P Munjal Holdings and Hero Cycles will offload shares worth Rs 400 crore through an offer-for-sale. Other prominent anchor investors include Societe Generale and 3P India, associated with market veteran Prashant Jain. Hero Motors manufactures engineered powertrain solutions for automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) across the US, Europe, India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region. The company plans to use Rs 190 crore of the fresh issue proceeds to repay debt. Another Rs 200 crore will be utilised to purchase equipment for capacity expansion at its facility in Gautam Buddha Nagar, Uttar Pradesh. The remaining proceeds are earmarked for inorganic growth through potential acquisitions that have not yet been identified, along with general corporate purposes. Hero Motors counts several global automotive companies among its customers, including BMW AG, Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A., Enviolo International Inc., Formula Motorsport, HUMMINGBIRDEV Inc. and HWA AG.