India's leading sport utility vehicle maker Mahindra and Mahindra announced Saturday plans to bid for a majority stake in cash-strapped South Korea's Ssangyong Motor Co as the firm seeks to go global.

Mahindra's board of directors approved the bid at a board meeting Saturday after the company carried out due diligence on Ssangyong, South Korea's fourth-largest automaker by sales, a statement said.

Mahindra, India's largest sport utility vehicle maker by sales, is among six companies worldwide that were shortlisted in June to carry out due diligence on the South Korean company which is under court-ordered bankruptcy protection.

The last date for filing bids for a more than 50 percent stake in Ssangyong is August 10.

Mahindra, which has been seeking to diversify in the automotive sector and become a global utility vehicle player, is seeking to tie up with Ssangyong to gain access to technology that it can use to boost its own product line.

Company officials have been tightlipped about how much Mahindra might have to pay to make a successful bid, but analysts have estimated that Ssangyong could be worth around 500 million dollars.

The board has "authorised submission of a binding bid to acquire a majority stake in Ssangyong Motor Co Ltd, South Korea," the company said in a statement.

Rival shortlisted suitors for Ssangyong include South Korean private-equity fund Seoul Invest, Daewoo Bus and Franco-Japanese aliance Renault-Nissan.

The other Indian company interested in buying Ssangyong, the P.K. Ruia group, has said it will taking a final call on making a bid in the next few days.

Ssangyong is mainly a manufacturer of less expensive but robust sports utility vehicles (SUVs) such as "Rexton," "Kyron" and "Actyon" that are sold globally. It also makes sedans.

Ssangyong has been under bankruptcy protection since early 2009 after surging oil prices and the global financial crisis undercut sales of its main SUV product line, leading to a cash crunch.

Industry analysts say Mahindra and Mahindra is interested in the South Korean vehiclemaker as the Indian company can gain technological benefits from the range of SUVs that the South Korean firm makes.