The auto major, which recently sold its 26 per cent holding in Otis Elevator Company, also continues to be on the lookout for a buyer for its popular sealant brand, M-Seal. M-Seal is owned by Mahindra Engineering and Chemical Products (MECP).

"We will sell our stake in Schenectady Beck India, since the electrical insulations business is not our core business. We will offer our stake if we get the right price," said a senior M&M official.

The erstwhile Dr Beck & Co, earlier part of the BASF group, is now controlled by the Schenectady group of the US. This follows a global reorganisation of BASF's coatings business which included the sale of its business of Beck Electrical Insulating Systems in Germany, UK, India, Brazil and Spain to theAmerican multinational. Schenectady is the world's largest producer of alkyl phenols and a leader in the electrical insulations business.

The Mahindra stake in Schenectady Beck India is held through group firm Mahindra Holdings and Finance. According to the 1998-99 annual report, Mahindra Holdings own 12.39 lakh shares in Schenectady Beck India. The investments (at cost) in the Pune-based electrical insulations company aggregate to Rs 2.39 crore.

The Mahindra group holds approximately 17.5 per cent of Schenectady Beck India's equity, and analysts say that the American giant would have the first right of refusal in the event of a sale of the Indian partner's shares. No official word could, however, be got on this front.

The M&M group, the official added, has also initiated talks with prospective buyers for the sale of M-Seal. "Since our talks with Ciba Specialty Chemicals failed, we are talking to several companies to buyout our brand," the official added. The brand, according to analysts, has annualsales of around Rs 18 crore and has been on the block for sometime now.

Talks with Ciba had hit a price block when the Swiss multinational was not too keen to go go beyond an offer price of around Rs 24 crore, while MECP was looking at a price of Rs 30-35 crore, at that time.