Mahindra Group plans to offload stake in agri arm to PE firms

Auto-to-software conglomerate Mahindra Group is planning to raise up to Rs 300 crore (around $44 million) by selling a minority stake in its subsidiary Mahindra Agri Solutions Ltd (MASL) to help scale up its agriculture business.

The Economic Times reported citing Mahindra Group's agri business unit president Ashok Sharma that the fundraise from private equity firms will enable the conglomerate’s agriculture business to post revenues of Rs 3,000 crore in three years.

The agri business was part of the conglomerate’s farm equipment business, but was made into a subsidiary last year.

Sharma said that after the reorganisation of the segment, the agri unit has achieved the status of a "sector".

Sharma also hinted at inorganic growth for MASL in the long run.

MASL, which has a separate board with independent reporting of finances and human resources policies, may even opt for public listing in four to seven years.

An email query sent to Mahindra Group didn’t elicit a response till the filing of this report. In September last year, it had invested about $1 million in MeraKisan, a startup which sources fresh vegetables and fruits directly from farmers and sells it to the customers.