Book opens for buyer seeking $312 million stake in India's Tata Motors

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Citi is handling the process for a prospective buyer to acquire up to 20 billion rupees ($311.8 million) worth of shares in India's Tata Motors Ltd on Tuesday, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters.

A source familiar with the transaction said the buyer was Tata Sons, the holding company behind the Tata conglomerate which owns nearly 35 percent of the vehicle maker through its affiliated companies and trusts.

The Tata Group has previously said it wants to consolidate its holdings in group companies.

According to the termsheet, the buyer is offering a maximum of 421.56 rupees apiece, or a 4 percent premium to the stock's closing price on Monday. The purchase, which is being undertaken through a so-called reverse bookbuild method, is for up to 1.71 percent of Tata Motors, the term sheet showed.

Tata Sons, which last December bought a 1.73 percent in the company through a similar reverse bookbuild, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

($1 = 64.1500 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Savio Shetty, S. Anuradha and Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Greg Mahlich)