India Japan Fund (IJF) has executed a binding agreement with Mahindra & Mahindra, where IJF will invest Rs 400 crore in Mahindra Last Mile Mobility, at a valuation of up to Rs 6,600 crore, resulting in the fund’s ownership ranging between 6.06% and 8.25% stake in MLMML.
Mahindra Last Mile Mobility Limited houses M&M’s last-mile mobility business including three wheelers (Alfa, Treo, Zor) and four-wheeler SCV (Jeeto) brands.
The investment in MLMML will be IJF’s first investment after the fund was set up in August 2023, and it joins the International Finance Corporation as an investor in MLMML.
India-Japan Fund is a Rs 4,900 crore fund managed by National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited, with Japan Bank of International Cooperation (“JBIC”) and the Government of India as anchor investors.
The fund focuses on investing in environmental sustainability and low carbon emission strategies, while also promoting investments by Japanese companies into India, including collaboration between Indian and Japanese companies.
MLMML was incorporated as a subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. and commenced commercial operations in September 2023, pursuant to closing of Asset Transfer and Business Transfer Agreements with M&M.
Dr. Anish Shah, Group CEO & MD, Mahindra Group, said, “We are delighted to have NIIF as a partner in our last mile mobility journey through IJF. The robustness of our business model has attracted marque investors such as IFC in the past and now IJF, which will help us move closer to our mission to be ‘Planet Positive’ by 2040.”
“Together with our partners JBIC, we believe that our investment in MLMML should yield transformative results in the last-mile mobility domain, driving economic growth, generating employment and ensuring environmental sustainability,” said, Krishna Kumar G, Partner, India Japan Fund, NIIF.
Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director and CEO, Auto & Farm Sectors, Mahindra & Mahindra, commented, “The large-scale electricifcation of the last mile mobility segment holds tremendous promise as it offers profitable solutions to micro-entrepreneurs and all our efforts are directed towards increasing penetration and adoption. We welcome IJF in this journey as we work towards growing the market at scale through technology and sustainable solutions.”