Mahindra's logistics arm SmartShift to merge with Porter

Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) today announced plans to merge its on-demand logistics provider arm SmartShift with startup Porter by Resfeber Labs.
"The company has today signed an agreement for investing in Resfeber Labs Pvt Ltd (Porter)," M&M said in a regulatory filing.
Under the merged identity, which will be called Mahindra SmartShift, both go-to market brands 'Porter' and 'SmartShift' will continue to service their respective customers and partner-drivers in order to optimise greater operational efficiency, it added.
Mahindra said it will invest Rs 65 crore in the two entities, which reinforces the group's commitment in the shared mobility space.
"This merger will help both SmartShift and Porter to spread out to a pan India presence in the shared mobility space," the company added.

Porter, backed by Sequoia and Kae capital, currently has over 10,000 vehicles on its platform and has done 15,00,000 deliveries in the last three years. Porter operates in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad. In fiscal 2017, it generated a net revenue of Rs 37 crore.

Mahindra has been keen to invest in the shared mobility space as a part of its strategy to promote and participate in sustainable mobility solutions.
Last week, M&M announced its plans to invest up to Rs 176 crore in car and bicycle rental firm Zoomcar India and Zoomcar Inc, its US incorporated holding parent company.

Pranav Goel, Co-Founder of Porter, will be the CEO of Mahindra SmartShift, while Kausalya Nandakumar will work as interim Co-CEO to ensure smooth transition and integration of both the companies.
The merger is subject to corporate and regulatory approvals.