The Indian conglomerate Tata Electronics, as reported by Reuters, has agreed to purchase a large stake in the only enterprise of the Taiwanese Pegatron in India, which specializes in assembling the iPhone. This deal will strengthen the Indian company’s position as one of the suppliers of Apple products.
The deal was finalized last week and the terms mean that Tata will control a 60% stake in Pegatron and manage its operations, while the Taiwanese partner will retain responsibility for providing technical support for the operation. The financial terms of the deal are not disclosed; under its terms, Pegatron will retain a 40% stake in the enterprise in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
Foxconn also assembles iPhones in India, so local companies will not be able to monopolize the market for related services in this country. Tata already has an existing iPhone assembly facility in Karnataka and is also building another one in Tamil Nadu. It also has an iPhone component manufacturing facility in the state. In September of this year there was a fire on it.
Analysts estimate that Indian-assembled smartphones will account for 20 to 25 percent of all iPhone shipments worldwide this year. Last year this figure did not exceed 12–14%. Pegatron, acquired by Tata, employs about 10,000 people and assembles 5 million iPhones annually. This will be the third Tata site in India where Apple smartphones will be assembled.