MUMBAI: In 1994, just three years into his role as chairman of the Tata Group, Ratan Tata spotted an opportunity to acquire Tetley, the renowned British tea company and inventor of the tea bag. This was not only his first attempt at acquiring a global brand — one far larger than Tata Tea itself — but also the first endeavour of its kind by any Indian conglomerate. Yet, despite assembling a team and sending it to London, Tata Tea couldn’t secure the necessary financing, and Tetley was snapped up by a private equity firm.
But fate ha other plans. Five years later, Tetley’s new owner put the company back on the market. This time, Tata, having learned from the failed first attempt, returned with a fully financed $432-million bid. In Feb 2000, Tetley finally joined the House of Tata, becoming not only the conglomerate’s but also India’s first and largest overseas acquisition.
Tetley was just the beginning for Ratan Tata. Over the course of his chairmanship, he orchestrated more than 60 acquisitions, bringing well-known brands such as Corus, Eight O’Clock, St James Court, Daewoo, British Salt, Tyco, and NatSteel into the Tata fold. Ratan Tata recognised that acquisitions were the only path to propelling the conglomerate onto the global stage.
Come 1999, Tata’s passenger car business was struggling, and Tata offered to sell it to Ford. The American automaker declined, stating it would be akin to doing the Indian group a favour if it purchased the business. However, in 2008, the tables turned. Facing bankruptcy, Ford sold its iconic Jaguar-Land Rover brands to Tata Motors for $2.3 billion. Ford chairman Bill Ford later expressed gratitude to Tata for doing them a favour by acquiring JLR. The deal not only saved Ford from financial collapse but also became one of Tata’s most successful overseas acquisitions, generating two-thirds of Tata Motors’ revenue.
Tata had long envisioned a significant presence in aviation. In 1995, Tata Sons approached the civil ministry to launch a domestic airline in partnership with Singapore Airlines (SIA), but govt introduced rules prohibiting foreign airlines from holding stakes in Indian carriers. Six years later, Tata Sons made another attempt; this time, partnering with SIA to bid for Air India, an airline established by Tata Group in 1932 and nationalised in 1953. Unfortunately, govt shelved its privatisation plans. However, in 2021, as Air India’s debt escalated, govt decided to sell the airline, allowing Tata Sons to successfully acquire it—a significant homecoming for the brand. Although this acquisition took place after Tata’s retirement, he approved the move as Tata Sons is governed by Tata Trusts, of which he was the chairman.
But not every acquisition went smoothly for Ratan Tata. The 2002 purchase of VSNL from govt stirred controversy when authorities objected to the use of the telecom company’s funds to support the group’s other telecom venture, Tata Teleservices. In light of this, Ratan Tata offered to return VSNL to govt and later resigned from his chairmanship, a position he never reclaimed.
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Similarly, Tata Steel’s acquisition of Corus for $13 billion in 2007, which was the largest cross-border deal in India to date, also faced criticism as an “aspirational mistake,” given that the British unit continues to depend on its Indian parent. Indian Hotels (Taj) faced a setback when its attempt to acquire Orient Express Hotels fell through. Despite acquiring a 10% stake in Orient Express in 2007 and making a $1.2-billion bid in 2012, the deal never materialised due to Orient Express’s reluctance to associate with an Indian brand. Taj persisted for several years, hoping to secure the acquisition, but ultimately abandoned its pursuit.