Mahindra & Mahindra on Thursday said the proposed initial public offering of its Last Mile Mobility business remains on track for the second half of calendar 2027, while describing its July 29 decision to merge the Truck and Bus Division with SML Mahindra as part of a broader strategy to build focused listed businesses instead of exiting non-core operations.Speaking after the company’s June-quarter results, Group CEO and Managing Director Anish Shah said there was a time when many investors would have preferred Mahindra to simply sell its truck and bus business. Instead, the company chose to turn it around before combining it with SML Mahindra, creating what he described as a larger platform for future growth.“Three or four years ago, many would have asked why we didn’t simply sell the truck business. The team did a great job getting the business to perform. Today we have the opportunity to combine it with SML at what we believe is a fair value and create a much bigger platform,” Shah said.Platform over exitMahindra on July 29 announced that SML Mahindra would acquire its Truck and Bus Division through a slump-sale transaction expected to be completed during FY27. The deal will consolidate the group’s truck and bus operations under a single listed company, with Mahindra retaining about 59 per cent of the combined entity.Executive Director and CEO (Auto & Farm Sector) Rajesh Jejurikar said the integration is designed to combine Mahindra’s engineering, manufacturing and sourcing strengths with SML Mahindra’s presence in trucks and buses, creating the scale needed to compete more effectively with Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland.“The idea is to create a platform that can start challenging some of the larger players in the industry,” Jejurikar said.IPO roadmap intactShah also reaffirmed that the proposed IPO of Last Mile Mobility, Mahindra’s electric three-wheeler business, remains on track for the second half of calendar 2027.Asked whether businesses such as aerostructures could also be listed, Shah said the group was focused on scaling businesses first and listing them later.“We are not too focused on listing itself. We are focused more on building businesses to scale, and as we do that, they will automatically list at some point,” he said.Mahindra already has separately listed businesses including Mahindra Lifespace Developers, Mahindra Logistics and Mahindra Holidays. With SML Mahindra becoming the group’s commercial vehicle platform and Last Mile Mobility next in line, the company is signalling a capital-allocation strategy centred on creating focused listed businesses while retaining strategic control, rather than monetising them through outright sales.Published on July 30, 2026