Looking at expansion in aerospace, defence units: M&M

M&M’s Mahindra Defence Systems (MDS) is looking to expand its business in aerospace and defence through acquisitions. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, MDS chairman SP Shukla said the company is on a lookout for technological partnerships for the same, he said. Acquisitions in defence are niche, capital intensive and specialised, he added.MDS makes light combat, multi-utility and sports utility vehicles. It designs and develops special military vehicles prototypes. M&M has been working to strengthen its aerospace and defence business rigorously in recent years. This year in June, the company’s subsidiary Mahindra Aerospace had bagged a multi-million areo-components manufacture and supply contract from its European consortium Airbus. Shortly thereafter, M&M Defence Naval Systems joined hands with Britains’s Ultra Electronics to manufacture and supply underwater warfare equipment for the Indian Navy and radios for the Army. The recent Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion’s (DIPP) grant to 19 private companies to manufacture range of defence products further strengthened the company’s focus on aerospace and defence areas.