Indian Conglomerate Tata Nears Deal For Majority Ownership In iPhone Plant In Country

Tata Group neared takeover of a major Apple Inc AAPL iPhone plant in southern India in a deal likely to give the country its first homegrown iPhone maker.
The airline-to-software conglomerate discussed with the factory’s owner, Taiwan’s Wistron Corp WICOF, for months and aimed to complete the purchase by March, Bloomberg reports.
The talks have now centered on Tata owning a majority of the joint venture.
Tata will likely oversee the main manufacturing operation, with support from Wistron.
Taiwanese manufacturing giants like Wistron and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd HNHPF Foxconn Technology Group were the main assembler of the iPhones.
The Indian conglomerate aims to complete a due diligence process by March 31, so Tata Electronics’ arm can formally take over Wistron’s position in a program that wins government incentives.
The acquisition could value Wistron’s only iPhone manufacturing operation in India at over $600 million.
Wistron’s 2.2 million square-foot factory stands just over 30 miles (50 kilometers) east of Bangalore.
If the acquisition goes through, Tata will take over all its eight iPhone lines. Wistron would continue as a service partner for iPhones in India.
Tata also looked to launch 100 Apple stores in the country of 1.4 billion, the first of which will likely open in Mumbai this quarter.
Tata Chair Natarajan Chandrasekaran shared the group’s plan to enter chipmaking as it accelerated efforts to make the conglomerate more tech-centric.
Tata’s deal would advance India’s efforts to create local contenders to challenge China’s dominance in electronics, already jeopardized by political tensions with the U.S. and Covid-related hurdles.
Price Action: AAPL shares closed higher by 0.41% at $130.15 on Monday.

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