The Tata group has completed the acquisition of Taiwan’s Wistron’s manufacturing facility in Karnataka, marking its diversification into assembling Apple iPhones.
The salt-to-software conglomerate signed a binding share purchase agreement on Wednesday with SMS InfoComm (Singapore) and Wistron Hong Kong Ltd to acquire 100% ownership in Wistron Infocomm Manufacturing (India).
Wistron India’s parent company informed the Taiwan Stock Exchange on October 27 about Tata Electronics Pvt. Ltd’s (TEPL) plan to acquire the iPhone assembly unit in Kolar for $125 million.
“Signing of the share purchase agreement to acquire Wistron InfoComm Manufacturing (India) Pvt. Ltd is an important milestone for us. The EMS (Electronic Manufacturing Services) industry in India is poised for growth, given the strong support from the government, and we are happy to be participating in this growth story,” Randhir Thakur, chief executive officer and managing director of Tata Electronics, said in a statement.
“We are focused on strengthening our capabilities in the manufacturing sector. I thank the entire Wistron team for their cooperation throughout this process,” he added.
ET reported on Thursday that the acquisition is worth a total $750 million, including a $550 million inter-corporate loan given to Wistron India by its parent, along with another $75-80 million term debt that would get loaded onto the acquirer.
Union Minister of state for electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar had broken the news of the acquisition, lauding the Tata group and the government’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme to bolster large-scale electronics manufacturing in India.
Taiwan’s Wistron joined native rival Foxconn in 2018 to start assembling iPhones in India, with a third Taiwanese manufacturer Pegatron joining in 2022.
Wistron’s Kolar unit has four assembly lines, and a facility to repair Apple products.
However, Wistron’s operations in India were plagued with issues of violence and worker protests. The company was put on probation by Apple, halting production at the facility till corrective measures were taken.
