The Pegatron plant employs nearly 10,000 employees and makes 5 million iPhones annually. It is the last such facility operated by the firm.
Tata already operates an iPhone assembly plant in the neighbouring southern state of Karnataka
Pegatron is reportedly in talks to hand over its only iPhone manufacturing facility in India to the Tata Group, the Taiwanese firm’s latest scale back of its Apple partnership.
The deal, if it goes through, will see Tata holding at least a 65% stake in a joint venture that will operate the Pegatron plant near Chennai, with the Taiwanese firm providing technical support and holding the rest. The deal has Apple’s backing, claimed a Reuters report.
Tata will reportedly operate the joint venture through its Tata Electronics unit. BT could not independently verify the report.
The Pegatron plant employs nearly 10,000 employees and makes 5 million iPhones annually. It is the last such facility operated by the firm after it forfeited control of an iPhone plant in China last year to rival Luxshare in a $290 million deal.
The development comes as Apple is increasingly looking to diversify its supply chain beyond China amid geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Washington. For Tata, the Chennai Pegatron plant will bolster its iPhone manufacturing plans.
Tata already operates an iPhone assembly plant in the neighbouring southern state of Karnataka, which it took over from Taiwan’s Wistron last year, and is also building another in Hosur in Tamil Nadu, where Pegatron is likely to emerge as its joint venture partner.
Pegatron has for months also been building another iPhone factory at its Chennai campus, and the Tata deal talks include taking over that facility as well, the first source said.
The talks between Tata and Pegatron for the factory are expected to close in six months and will see all of the Pegatron India employees move to the joint venture entity. Apple’s iPhone contract manufacturers in India currently include Tata, Pegatron and Foxconn. Tata is key to Apple’s growing ambitions in India, which analysts estimate will contribute 20-25% of total iPhone shipments this year, from 12-14% last year.
