Mahindra & Mahindra has recently announced an agreement with shareholders of MERU Travel Solutions Private Limited to buy their stakes in the ride-sharing company. The carmaker has increased its stakes in Meru by obtaining 44.4 per cent shares from a private investor- True North for an amount of Rs 73.06 crore and 12.66 per cent from Neeraj Gupta and Farhat Gupta for 21.63 crores. With this new purchase, Mahindra has fully acquired Meru by increasing its shareholding from 43.2 per cent to 100 per cent. The automaker is also planning to expand its reach in the mobility service business with this new acquisition.
Mr Pravin Shah is now the new CEO of Meru. Earlier, he was the President Automotive-Mahindra till March 2017. Mr Neeraj Gupta, Founder, CEO and Whole Time Director of MERU and its subsidiary company Meru Mobility Tech Private Limited & Director of two other Meru subsidiaries- V-Link Automotive Services Private Limited and V-Link Solution Private Limited, resigned from its position on 30th April 2021. But, he will continue to work as an employee till 30th June 2021.
Commenting on the recent acquisition, Mr Anish Shah, MD and CEO, Mahindra Group said,
At the outset, I would like to thank Neeraj Gupta and the team at Meru for building a pioneering brand in the shared mobility space in India. Our association with Meru is built on our compelling strategy to scale our shared mobility businesses. Pravin has agreed to take this critical responsibility of the business and to develop sustainable and scalable business strategies.
MERU Cabs was founded back in 2006. It started the trend of cab booking over the phone by offering an AC cab service to the customers. The automaker has also introduced electric cars in its stable. In other news, Mahindra will soon launch the XUV700 in the Indian market. It has been snapped several times while getting tested on the Indian roads. It will derive power from a 2.2-litre turbocharged diesel engine or a 2.0-litre petrol unit. The engine will come paired with a manual or an automatic gearbox. These are the same powertrain options, which propel the new-gen Mahindra Thar.
