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Tata Group is close to taking over a major Wistron plant in southern India in a deal that would give the country its first homegrown iPhone assembler.

Saritha Rai for Bloomberg News:

The airline-to-software conglomerate has been in talks with the factory’s owner, Taiwan’s Wistron Corp., for months, and is looking to complete the purchase by the end of March, according to two people familiar with the process. The two firms discussed various potential tieups but talks have now centered on Tata taking a majority of a joint venture, the people said. Tata is set to oversee the main manufacturing operation, with support from Wistron, the people said, asking not to be named because the plans aren’t public.

Apple Inc.’s iPhones are mainly assembled by Taiwanese manufacturing giants like Wistron and Foxconn Technology Group. Tata’s deal would advance India’s efforts to create local contenders to challenge China’s dominance in electronics, which has been jeopardized by political tensions with the US and Covid-related hurdles.

The Indian conglomerate aims to complete a due diligence process by March 31 so that its Tata Electronics arm can formally take over Wistron’s position in a program that gives it government incentives, one of the people said. The next cycle of incentives will begin from April 1, which marks the start of India’s financial year.

Even as Wistron plans to exit iPhone-making in India, its Taiwanese peers are expanding their iPhone production lines. Apple, the world’s most profitable smartphone maker, is seeking to reduce its dependence on China, where pandemic-related supply chain snarls and draconian restrictions have wrought havoc on device production.

MacDailyNews Note: Wistron’s factory comprises 2.2 million square feet. It is located some 30 miles east of Bangalore. If the deal is inked, Tata will take over all Wistron’s eight iPhone assembly lines, which employ 10,000 workers, including approximately 2,000 engineers.

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