India's M&M buys stake in Spanish auto parts firm

India's biggest sports utility vehicle maker, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) announced on Saturday it was acquiring a 13.5 percent stake in Spanish auto component company CIE Automotive. The announcement of the "multi-structured" cross-holding equity deal caps two years of talks between the Indian equipment-to-aerospace conglomerate and the Spanish company. M&M, which makes one out of every sports utility vehicle sold in India, said it will invest 94.24 million euros ($125.72 million)through its subsidiaries for a 13.5-percent stake in CIE Automotive SA at a price of six euros per share. In turn, M&M, the flagship company of the $15.9 billion Mahindra Group, will sell stakes in three group firms -- Mahindra Forgings, a listed unit of Mahindra, Mahindra Hinoday Industries and Mahindra Composites. The Mahindra units supply such items as gears, steel and engineering services to Indian and foreign automakers. In recent years, Mahindra, led by 57-year-old group chairman Anand Mahindra and grandson of the company's co-founder, has been striving to be a global player and now controls South Korean car maker Ssangyong Motor Co. Last month, the M&M said it aims to invest some 75 billion rupees in its business over the coming three years.