Mahindra to acquire Meru for Rs 97.66 crore, Pravin Shah appointed CEO

In continuation of its strategic intent to grow its presence in the shared mobility space, Mahindra & Mahindra has entered into definitive agreements with shareholders of Meru Travel Solutions (Meru) to buy their respective stakes in ride sharing company Meru.

M&M is to acquire 44.14% shares from private equity investor, True North and others for an amount not exceeding Rs 76.03 crore and 12.66% shares from Neeraj Gupta and Mrs. Farhat Gupta, for Rs 21.63 crore. With this, M&M will enhance its current shareholding in Meru from 43.20% to 100%.

Set up in 2006, Meru Cabs revolutionised the way people travelled in cabs by offering AC cabs at their doorstep with a single call. Today, Meru has a significant presence in the airport transfer business, operating in the ride hail segment and providing employee transportation services to corporates in India.

Neeraj Gupta, founder-CEO and director of Meru and its subsidiary company Meru Mobility and director of two other Meru subsidiaries – V-Link Automotive Services and V-Link Fleet Solutions will be stepping down.

Pravin Shah, who was earlier President Automotive, M&M till March 2017 will be the CEO of Meru and its subsidiary companies, with effect from May 1, 2021.

Commenting on the acquisition, Dr. Anish Shah, MD and CEO, Mahindra Group said, “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.”