Hero MotoCorp has announced that it has received approval from its board of directors to invest up to Rs 550 crore in the rights issue of associate company Ather Energy.

The company said in its exchange filing that on 4 September, the board approved further investment of Rs 550 crore into electric two-wheeler maker Ather Energy, where it is an existing investor.

The investment comes after the electric two-wheeler maker is looking to close a funding round before its public issue.

Ather Energy is planning to go public by 2024.

Tarun Mehta, cofounder and chief executive officer of Ather Energy, had said, “Profitability is key for us and we will only then look at an IPO. The market condition should also be right, and we will have to turn profitable to think about that. Our sales numbers are great, demand is growing, and we are very bullish on the segment we operate in,”

The Hero MotoCorp Shares have given a return of 18.96% over the last six months against the 10% gain on the Nifty 50 benchmark, which has given a return of 10.26% during the same time frame.