Wistron deal: Tata gets global reach, Apple gets to hedge geopolitical bets

The government's target of hitting $52-$58 billion in mobile phone exports in FY26 has been faltering; an Indian corporate group with financial muscle will help

A year of hectic parleys went by before it could be announced, on October 27, that a Tata Group company would acquire Wistron Corp’s India manufacturing business for an estimated $125 million.

This will make Tata Electronics the first Indian entity to make iPhones for the domestic and global markets. It will join an exclusive club of iPhone assemblers, whose members are Foxconn, Pegatron, and Luxshare, and the outgoing Wistron. The first three are seasoned global players in electronics manufacturing and services (EMS), which involves assembling and manufacturing.

Wistron was the first to begin iPhone assembly in India, in 2017. Later Foxconn