The list of Indian firms acquiring companies in the UK is notably led by the Tata Group, a diverse conglomerate spanning from salt to software. Other significant players include Mahindra & Mahindra, Welspun, and TVS.
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Tata’s Tetley tale
Tata Tea made headlines in February 2000 with its acquisition of Tetley, Britain’s leading tea brand and the second largest globally, for £271 million. At that time, Tata Tea was considerably smaller than Tetley, which was renowned for its iconic TV advertisements featuring the Tetley tea folk.
After a five-year pursuit, which included an initial setback in 1995 when Tata Tea lost out to venture capitalist firms, the perseverance of Tata Group’s leadership, including Chairman Ratan Tata and Tata Tea Managing Director RK Krishna Kumar, eventually succeeded. When the venture capitalists decided to sell Tetley, they offered it to Tata Tea. Thus, in January 2000, Tata Tea’s acquisition of Tetley marked a historic moment in Indian corporate history.
A well spun acquisition
In July 2006, led by B.K. Goenka, Welspun India Ltd acquired an 85% stake in CHT Holdings Ltd, the parent company of Christy, Britain’s leading terry towel brand, for an enterprise value of Rs 132 crore. This acquisition provided Welspun with access to the premium Christy brand and opened doors to the UK and European markets, marking its initial step towards becoming a global home textile company.
Growing Corus for Indian supremacy
During its global expansion in the early 2000s, Tata Steel secured a major victory by acquiring Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus Group Plc for $12 billion, overcoming a rival bid from Brazil’s Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN). After a competitive bidding process, Tata Steel’s offer of 608 pence per share surpassed CSN’s 603 pence per share, finalizing the acquisition in April 2007.The acquisition of Corus, Britain’s largest steelmaker at the time, thrust Tata Group into the global spotlight and inspired confidence among other Indian firms to challenge much larger multinational corporations.
Tatas pounce on the Jaguar
In June 2008, just a year later, Tata Motors completed its purchase of British carmaker Jaguar Land Rover from Ford Motor Company for $2.3 billion, following the announcement of the deal in March. The transaction was conducted entirely in cash.
Ratan Tata called the acquisition “a momentous occasion for all of us at Tata Motors” and pledged to preserve the unique identities of Jaguar and Land Rover while continuing their established business strategies.
M&M joins the race
In October 2016, Mahindra & Mahindra, another major Indian conglomerate, announced its acquisition of UK-based two-wheeler manufacturer BSA Company for £340,000 (approximately ₹28 crore). This acquisition, executed through Classic Legends Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of M&M, granted Mahindra the rights to the BSA brand for global motorcycle sales, marketing, and distribution.
BSA primarily focuses on licensing motorcycle brands and operates in the UK as well as in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, the US, Mexico, and Canada.
In April 2020, Chennai-based TVS Motor Company acquired the renowned UK-based motorcycle manufacturer Norton Motorcycles for £16 million in an all-cash transaction.
(With agency inputs)