Tata Electronics seals deal for 60% stake in Pegatron Tamil Nadu iPhone plant
Tata Electronics is signing a deal to own a majority stake in Taiwanese contract manufacturer Pegatron's plant in Tamil Nadu, people familiar with the development said, underlining its move to increase its capacity of assembling iPhones.
The deal is likely to lead Tata Electronics having a 60% stake with Pegatron holding the balance in the JV to run the iPhone production facility. Industry executives said the Tata Group company could pay $150-200 million for the stake.
The people said, with the joint capacities of both the Wistron and the Pegatron facilities, along with the expansion Tata is undertaking at its Hosur facility, the company's capacity may increase to be at par or almost at par with that of Taiwan's Foxconn, which currently makes the most number of iPhones in India.
«Apple's contract manufacturers currently have a monthly capacity of around 40 million iPhones, out of which 30-35 million units are made every month. With this deal done, the capacity is only going to increase as Apple looks to expand its supply chain outside of China amid geopolitical tensions,» an industry executive aware of the developments told ET. Emails to Tata Electronics and Pegatron went unanswered. Tata Electronics is looking to increase its heft within the country to meet the booming local demand for both semiconductors and iPhones, industry sources said.
Demand has risen significantly in the last several months surpassing expectations for Apple, they said. The Tata Group has a multi-partner strategy in place to strengthen
