Meru Cabs, a cab service and travelling company founded in 2006 pioneered the pre-booked cab services and revolutionized the way people travelled by cabs. It was the first to offer AC cabs at doorstep by making a single call.
Just recently, Mahindra and Mahindra Limited, the billion dollar multinational automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra has fully acquired the possession over the app-based cab service- Meru and its subsidiaries including Meru Mobility Tech Pvt. Ltd and V Link Automotive Services Pvt. after it finalised a deal to raise its stake to 100 percent on Friday. Mahindra earlier used to hold 43.20 per cent stake in the company.
The company was in talks to acquire the stakes of Meru from 2019 itself. After locking the deal, Mahindra and Mahindra said that this move is in continuation of its premeditated intent to expand its presence in the shared mobility and transport space. To buy off the stakes, Mahindra and Mahindra is going to spend around ₹98 crore.
The automobile company would get a hold of 44.14 per cent shares from Private Equity investor, True North and others for an amount of almost ₹76.03 crore and 12.66 per cent shares from Neeraj Gupta and Farhat Gupta, for an amount not exceeding ₹21.63 crore. With this deal, Mahindra and Mahindra will increase its current shareholding in Meru from 43.20 per cent to 100 percent.
Pravin Shah, who was earlier a President at the automotive, Mahindra and Mahindra till March 2017 will now be posted at the position of the CEO of Meru and its subsidiary companies, effective from May 1, 2021.
Talking about the Meru- Mahindra deal, Anish Shah, MD and CEO at the Mahindra Group commented- “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.”
Neeraj Gupta trusting his company in the hands of Mahindra and Mahindra said that the last two decades in the mobility industry have been exhilarating. Building Meru to become a household name in the country had been a really challenging task.
Ending his statement, Neeraj lastly said- “The time is right for me to pursue newer interests and hand over Meru in the safe hands of the Mahindra Group, one of the finest corporate houses in the country.”
