The India Japan Fund (IJF) has signed a binding agreement with Mahindra & Mahindra under which the fund would invest Rs 400 crore in Mahindra Last Mile Mobility at a valuation of up to Rs 6,600 crore, resulting in the fund owning 6.06% to 8.25% of MLMML.
M&M’s last-mile mobility business is housed at Mahindra Last Mile Mobility Limited, which includes three-wheeler (Alfa, Treo, Zor) and four-wheeler SCV (Jeeto) brands.
The investment in MLMML will be the IJF’s first since the fund’s inception in August 2023, and it will join the International Finance Corporation as an investor in MLMML.
The India-Japan Fund is a Rs 4,900 crore fund administered by National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited, with anchor investors Japan Bank of International Cooperation (“JBIC”) and the Government of India.
The fund focuses on environmental sustainability and low-carbon emission initiatives, as well as boosting Japanese company investments in India, including partnership between Indian and Japanese enterprises.
MLMML was formed as a subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. and began commercial operations in September 2023, after the completion of Asset Transfer and Business Transfer Agreements with M&M.
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 electrification 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.”