Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd (M&M) has entered into definitive agreements with shareholders of Meru Travel Solutions Private Ltd to buy their respective stakes in Meru and increase its stake to 100 per cent.

Following the deal, 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.

M&M would acquire 44.14 per cent shares from private equity investor True North and others for an amount not exceeding ₹76.03 crore and 12.66 per cent from Neeraj Gupta and Farhat Gupta for an amount not exceeding ₹21.63 crore, the company said in a statement.

At present, M&M holds about 43.20 per cent in the company.

Anish Shah, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, 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 Shah has agreed to take this critical responsibility of the business and to develop sustainable and scalable business strategies”.

Meru Cabs, a ridesharing company founded in 2006, today 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 whole time director of Meru and its subsidiary company Meru Mobility Tech Pvt Ltd and director of two other Meru subsidiaries — V-Link Automotive Services Pvt Ltd and V-Link Fleet Solutions Pvt Ltd — will be stepping down from April 30. He will continue as an employee until June 30, it said.

Gupta said, “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 newer interests and handover Meru in the safe hands of the Mahindra Group, one of the finest corporate houses in the country”.

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