M&M to raise stake in Ssangyong unit to 73 percent

REUTERS - Mahindra & Mahindra will raise its holding in Ssangyong Motor Co <003620.KS> to 72.85 percent in a 80 billion Korean won investment, the South Korean carmaker said in a statement on Thursday.

Mahindra, India's biggest sports utility vehicle manufacturer, will subscribe to preferential shares issued by Ssangyong to facilitate new product development and strengthen the South Korean company's financials.

The payment is expected to be made on May 22.

Mahindra, the flagship company of the $15.9 billion Mahindra Group, bought a controlling stake in the carmaker in March 2011.

(Reporting by Henry Foy in MUMBAI; Editing by G.Ram Mohan)