Indian OEM Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has been rumoured to have been on the acquisition prowl for a while, and has now announced that it is buying 68 per cent of Jeco Holdings AG, one of Germany’s biggest forging companies, and supplier to the likes of DaimlerChrysler, MAN, Volvo and Renault. With this, Indian companies own and operate two of Germany’s biggest forging companies. In early 2004, Bharat Forge acquired the German operations of CDP GmbH.

Although no price has been mentioned by either M&M or Jeco, some reports suggest that the deal is valued at around €140 million. The gameplan seems to be to merge Jeco with Mahindra Automotive Steel, in which M&M holds a 47 per cent stake. 
Jeco has an existing forging capacity of 100,000 tonnes per annum, and manufacturers transmission, engine and axle parts, hubs, gears and piston heads.

Added to M&M’s existing capacity, the new venture will be able to turn out around 160,000 tonnes per year.