MAN to acquire majority stake in joint venture with Force Motors

Force Motors is selling a part of its 50-per cent stake in its joint venture MAN Force Trucks Pvt Ltd to its partner, MAN Truck & Bus AG, for euro 150 million (Rs 1034 crore / $203 million).

Force Motors will sell 55.8 million equity shares of MAN Force Trucks to its partner, the company said in a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

Force Motors had, in 2003, conceived a project for production of new generation heavy commercial vehicles in the country and had sourced technology from leading German companies like MAN for engines, cabs and axles and ZF for gearboxes.

Based on this, Force Motors has created a whole range of commercial vehicles.

Subsequently, in 2006, the project of Force Motors was converted into a joint venture with MAN having an equity stake of 30 per cent. A new company, MAN Force Trucks Pvt Ltd, was formed for the manufacture of heavy commercial vehicles.

Later, in 2008, the equity proportion was adjusted to increase MAN's share to 50 per cent. Now, subject to necessary approvals, Force Motor will sell and transfer 55,797,100 equity share of MAN Force Motor Trucks Pvt Ltd to MAN for a consideration of euro 150 million, the company said in a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

MAN Force has a manufacturing facility at Pithampur, MP. The company's trucks are exported overseas to countries such as Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and certain African countries.

MAN Truck and Bus AG (formerly MAN Nutzfahrzeuge AG) is the largest subsidiary of the MAN SE Corporation. Headquartered in Munich, Germany, MAN Truck and Bus produces trucks in the range from 7.49 to 44 tonnes, heavy goods vehicles of up to 250 tonnes, road trains, bus-chassis, coaches, interurban coaches and city buses. MAN Truck and Bus also produces diesel- and natural-gas engines.