- The acquisition is set to be completed in stages and the first tranche will be in October 2019 with Rs 103.5 crores being the primary investment
- Meru is one of the first radio taxi operators in the ride-hailing segment in India in 2007.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) is buying a 55% interest in the ride-hailing company Meru Travel Solutions for up to Rs 201.5 crore cash consideration.
On Saturday, M&M said in an exchange filing, the firm signed a share subscription and shareholder agreement to subscribe up to 55 percent of Meru’s equity assets in tranches.
The acquisition is set to be completed in stages and the first tranche will be in October 2019 with Rs 103.5 crores being the primary investment. This comes after Mahindra Electric and Meru have announced a joint electric vehicle pilot project in Hyderabad.
With the investment, Meru will become a subsidiary of the company along with Meru Mobility Tech Private Limited, V-Link Automotive Services Private Limited and V-Link Fleet Solutions Private Limited.
Mahindra & Mahindra says it “is keen to grow its presence in the shared mobility space and by the acquisition of the stake in Meru, the company will enter the corporate shared mobility space which is an area of strategic interest to the company.”
Meru is one of the first radio taxi operators in the ride-hailing segment in India. It provides metered radio taxi services in the cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad since April 2007. V-Link Automotive Services, a Meru subsidiary, provides radio taxi services and tourist cab services in various cities of India. It operates a large fleet across India supported by a 24×7 call center and advanced GPS, GPRS-based cab dispatching service, quick cab bookings through its mobile application and website.
Earlier in February 2018, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has announced its plan to invest in Zoomcar India and in Zoomcar Inc, its US incorporated holding parent company, in line with the automaker’s thrust on the shared mobility business. Under the deal, the Mahindra Group would invest up to Rs 176 crore in Zoomcar India or Zoomcar Inc, which would constitute approximately 16 percent stake in Zoomcar Inc.
The past month has seen Mahindra domestic sales dip 26 percent.
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The company did sell only 33,564 units in the past month as against 45,373 units sold in August 2018. Exports have also dipped 15 percent to 2,521 units as the company reported as the Automobile Industry plunged to worst sales figure of the last two decades in July
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