Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) came to terms with Canadian IT firm Resson Aerospace Corporation in a share subscription agreement to acquire 10 per cent of its share capital for up to CAD 6.63 million.
“The company has today signed a share subscription agreement for subscribing up to 8,00,402 Class C preferred shares of Resson Aerospace Corporation, Canada, which would result in the company holding up to 10 per cent of the share capital of Resson on a fully diluted basis,” M&M said in a regulatory filling.
The amount of CAD 6.63 million which amounts to approximately 34.5 crore in Indian currency will be paid in cash.
Resson is a machine learning and data-driven analytics company that makes use of the latest technological advancements to provide farmers with full insights about their food, land and crops. It aims at providing farmers with the best digital tools by capturing and interpreting images, therefore providing insights to farmers which are intended to make better informed decisions and improve productivity as well. Resson’s technology aims at making use of satellite and drone images to virtually assess every part of the farmers’ field to detect, classify and geo-locate specific anomalies, pests and diseases. It operates across three continents, mainly in the US and Canada.
The acquisition of Resson by M&M is said to be driven by the wish to develop the latter’s technological assets in its farm businesses.
In September 2017, M&M also made the acquisition of Turkish tractor company, Erkunt Traktor Sanayii AS, for Rs 800 crore in a bid to strengthen its hold in international markets, most particularly in Turkey, for this case. In January of that year, it also made the acquisition of 75.1% stakes in Hisarlar, a Turkish farm equipment company.