According to a report in Bloomberg, Wistron’s board approved the sale of Wistron InfoComm Manufacturing (India) Private Ltd to the Tata Group for $125 million, the Taiwanese electronics manufacturer announced in a statement on Friday, October 27.The unit operates an iPhone assembly plant near Bengaluru, a person familiar with the matter said.
IT minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar congratulated Tata Group on the acquisition. “PM @narendramodi Ji’s visionary PLI scheme has already propelled India into becoming a trusted & major hub for smartphone manufacturing and exports. Now within just two and a half years, @TataCompanies will now start making iPhones from India for domestic and global markets from India. Congratulations to the Tata team for taking over Wistron operations.
Thank you @Wistron for your contributions, and great going for Apple in building a global supply chain from India with Indian companies at its helm.
@GoI_MeitY stands fully in support in growth of Global Indian Electronics companies that will in turn support global Electronic brands that want to make India their trusted manufacturing & talent partner and to realize PMs goal of making India a global electronics power 🇮🇳💪,” posted Chandrasekhar on X, formerly Twitter.
Tata Group has reportedly been in talks for more than a year to take over the plant, as it seeks to forge closer ties with Apple in India. Wistron is one of three Taiwanese iPhone manufacturers in India, along with Pegatron and Foxconn. Pegatron has reportedly sought to diversify its business beyond thin-margin iPhone manufacturing into areas such as servers, agreeing to sell its iPhone production business in China to a competitor in 2020.
After the deal has been confirmed by both parties, the companies will seek regulatory approvals, Wistron said in the statement.
Tata Group has taken other steps to increase its business with Apple. It has accelerated hiring in its factory in Hosur, near Bengaluru, where it produces iPhone components. The plant stands on several hundred acres of land where Tata Group could add iPhone manufacturing lines in the coming years. Tata Group has also announced that it will launch 100 Apple authorised stores in the country of 1.4 billion.