Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. - Farm Equipment Sector: Acquisition of Jiangling Tractor Company

Farm Equipment Services (FES), the tractor manufacturing division of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M), is considering entering the Chinese tractor industry through a joint venture with Jiangling Tractor Company (JTC), a state-owned automotive enterprise. M&M had seeded the Chinese tractor market with exports and had concluded that the most efficient and prudent way to serve the Chinese tractor market was through a joint venture with a local partner. JTC had good brand recognition and strong position in the small tractor market. However, due to the lack of interest from the parent company, Jiangling Motor Company Group, JTC was facing severe operational challenges: was over staffed, had high overhead, owed significant amounts to suppliers and dealers were fleeing the company. M&M saw an opportunity to work with a management team they were comfortable with and to leverage JTC's potential to grow in China and to export tractors as well as components. The challenge was to determine how management should proceed to restructure and integrate the joint ventures assets.