Mahindra Finance: Investor's Dilemma

In the summer of 2023, an analyst was considering the valuation of Mahindra and Mahindra Financial Services Ltd. (Mahindra Finance) and tracking the performance of the non-banking financial company (NBFC) industry in India. Mahindra Finance’s stock had been volatile over the past five years, reaching a low share price of ₹76.46 in May 2020 and a high of ₹373.80 in February 2020. This share price volatility could be attributed to the average asset quality. The firm’s ongoing process transformation, Vision 2025, was expected to bring some stability and a reduction in volatility. The company’s management had formulated objectives for 2025 that were aimed at increasing the company’s assets under management by a factor of two in comparison to 2023. Given that the company was poised to achieve growth in the future, the analyst wanted to know the intrinsic value of Mahindra Finance. What would be the fair price for each share of Mahindra Finance? What method of valuation would provide the closest approximation of the intrinsic value of the company and its performance?

This case can be used in a finance course on security analysis or business valuation in an undergraduate- or MBA-level program. The case lends itself to a discussion of dividend discount valuation methodology as it is used to identify a potential investment target. This case provides an in-depth discussion of free cash flow to equity (FCFE) and offers students an opportunity to assess a company’s intrinsic valuation using analysts’ estimates, trading comparisons, and transaction comparisons. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to do the following: <ul><li>Identify the different growth and risk opportunities associated with investment in a non-banking financial company by undertaking an analysis of its strength, weakness, opportunities, and threats (SWOT).</li><li>Describe the approach used in valuing a non-banking financial company using the free-cash-flow method and identify the key assumptions made in this approach.</li><li>Undertake a fundamental and relative valuation of a stock based on trading and transaction comparisons.</li></ul>

• non-banking fincial companies, valuation