India’s Tata Electronics has bought 60% of Pegatron’s local arm for iPhone manufacturing

(Reuters) – Tata Electronics said on Friday it has bought a 60% stake in Taiwanese contract manufacturer Pegatron, which operates an iPhone plant in India, boosting the Tata group company’s status as an Apple supplier in the fast-growing market.

The stake purchase in Pegatron Technology India is for Apple Inc’s iPhone factory near the southern city of Chennai, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Tata Electronics and Pegatron did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

Tata Electronics did not disclose the financial terms of the deal.

The company, which took over from Taiwan’s Wistron last year, will have two plants in the southern state of Tamil Nadu and two in neighboring Karnataka.

Apple is looking to expand its supply chain beyond China amid geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Washington.

Last April, Reuters reported that Pegatron had Apple’s backing and that the Taiwanese company was in advanced talks to sell its sole iPhone factory in India to Tata in order to reduce its partnership with Apple.

As Tata, one of India’s largest conglomerates, expands into iPhone manufacturing, it rivals Foxconn, the only iPhone contract manufacturer operating in India.

In early January, India’s competition regulator approved Tata Electronics’ plan to buy a stake in Pegatron Technologies India.

(Reporting by Ashna Teresa Britto and Munsif Vengatil in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)