Hero pledges shares,raises Rs 900 cr

8220;To secure the said raising,the shares of Hero Honda Motors were pledged by HIPL,8221; it added.

After the pledging of 0.594 per cent stake by HIPL,ATSL8217;s holding in Hero Honda will increase to 5.38 per cent from 4.79 per cent before,it added.

Last week,HIPL had pledged pledged 5.32 per cent stake in Hero Honda with ILamp;FS Trust Company Ltd raising an estimated Rs 1,585 crore. HIPL is one of the main shareholders of Hero Honda,holding 17.33 per cent stake in the company as on December 31,2010.

The BM Munjal-led Hero Group has been looking to raise funds to finance its Rs 3,841.83 crore buyout of the 26 per cent stake of Honda from their joint venture,Hero Honda.

Yesterday,the group had said it would pay Rs 739.97 per share to Honda as part of their agreement to end the 26-year-old joint venture.

The group also said it will raise funds from private equity firms,including Bain Capital and Lathe Investment,estimated to be around Rs 4,500 crore to finance its buyout by selling stake in HIPL.

It has already sought government clearance to bring in foreign investment of up to Rs 4,500 crore in HIPL.

Hero Honda scrips closed the day at Rs 1,533.45 per share on the BSE,up 1.01 per cent from the previous close.