Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd (M&M) said that it has agreed to buy the shares it didn’t already own in Meru Travel Solutions Pvt. Ltd (Meru) from existing shareholders.
This would take M&M’s stake in Meru to 100% from 43.2%. M&M will acquire 44.14% shares from private equity investor True North and others for an amount of ₹76.03 crore and 12.66% shares from founder Neeraj Gupta and promoter Farhat Gupta, for ₹21.63 crore.
Neeraj Gupta, chief executive officer of Meru and its unit Meru Mobility Tech Pvt. Ltd, will be stepping down from his position and will continue as an employee until 30 June.
“The last two decades in the mobility industry, building Meru to become a household name in the country has been exhilarating. The time is right for me to pursue new interests and hand over Meru to the safe hands of the Mahindra Group, one of the finest corporate houses in the country. Under the able leadership of Dr Anish Shah, I am confident that Meru will rise to greater heights in the times to come,” said Gupta.
Gupta also serves as the director of two other Meru subsidiaries—V-Link Automotive Services Pvt. Ltd and V-Link Fleet Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
“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,” said Shah, managing director, Mahindra Group.
Pravin Shah, who was earlier the president and chief executive of the automotive division at M&M till March 2017, will take over as the new CEO of Meru and its subsidiary companies with effect from 1 May.
In 2019, M&M had agreed to buy a controlling 55% stake in Meru for ₹103 crore. As a part of its exchange filing, the auto-manufacturer had also said that it will increase its stake to 100% over time.
Founded in 2006, Meru operates in the airport transfer business and provides employee transportation services to Indian corporates.