Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) said due diligence on South Korean sports utility vehicle-maker SsangYong Motor Company is almost over and work on a draft agreement will begin by the month-end.
"We will be completing our due diligence soon and then hold talks with the SsangYong management. We expect to draft our acquisition plan by the end of this month," M&M President (Automotive and Farm Equipment) Pawan Goenka said here.
"We expect to sign the final agreement by December-January," he added.
M&M had "signed a memorandum of understanding with SsangYong Motor to acquire a majority stake in the South Korean SUV maker."
The auto company is interacting with SsangYong's management on the kind of products to introduce in India, "but discussions are still at arms length," Goenka added.
M&M is also mulling the launch of some SsangYong products in the US, but no dates have been frozen as yet, he said.
According to Goenka, the first-and-second-quarter financial results of SsangYong have exceeded the company's expectations.
Betting big on the sales of its Logan sedan this month, Goenka said: "We are very happy with th car's sales in September. We expect to do better in October."
The Logan clocked record sales of 1,000 units in September, the highest in the last 17 months - up 96.08 per cent from the 510 units of the same month last year.
Mahindra Renault, a 51:49 partnership between M&M and French auto major Renault, launched the Logan in India in April 2007.
Goenka also said the company has frozen the designs of the refreshed and compact Logan. The two models would be launched in the next 15 months.
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