Indian industrial giant Mahindra & Mahindra announced today that it has completed the acquisition of a majority stake in South Korea’s SsangYong Motor Company, with the deal also signaling that SsangYong is no longer in court receivership. Mahindra won the bid for the troubled Korean carmaker in August 2010.
The Indian company said it sees the acquisition as an “opportunity to harness synergies between the two companies, while protecting their respective brand identities and ensuring quality”, adding that the group “will focus on global procurement, new car development and business strategy to penetrate international markets”.
The first results of the SsangYong buyout will be the launch of the Rexton and Korando-C in India.
“This is a landmark day for all of us at Mahindra as it marks the beginning of what I am sure will be an enduring partnership with SsangYong Motor Company,” said Dr. Pawan Goenka, president of Mahindra & Mahindra. “I would like to thank all the employees of SsangYong as well as the company’s creditors for the help and cooperation extended to us during this long process,” he added.
Mahindra’s president stressed that “SsangYong will be an independently run Korean company – with largely Korean Management – and will remain a ‘Made in Korea’ brand.” He also appointed Yoo-il Lee as SsangYong CEO and Dilip Sundaram as CFO.
The Indian company said it has proposed a 70% investment increase in product development (compared to last year) for SsanYong in 2011.
At the Geneva Motor Show, SsangYong revealed the SUT-1 Concept, a pre-production study of a pick-up truck it plans to sell in early 2012.
By Dan Mihalascu
PHOTO GALLERY
