Tata Group: The Benign Hunter

Abstract

Tata group, one of India’s largest business houses had been on an acquisitions spree for over a decade, acquiring companies across domestic and international markets. Although many of these acquisitions had been successful, in contrast to the average 70 per cent failure rates for acquisitions worldwide, some analysts were beginning to believe that Tata were making too many acquisitions and that successful integration would not last for very long. Tata Chemicals (TCL) had recently completed another acquisition of General Chemical and Industrial Products (GCIP) for US $1 billion for their soda ash facilities. Would this acquisition be as successful as Tata’s other acquisitions based on history or was Tata acquiring too many, too fast?

We have two guiding arrows. One points overseas, where we want to expand markets for our existing products. The other points right here, to India, Where we want to explore the large mass market that is emerging — not by following but by breaking new ground in product development and seeing how we can do something that has not been done before.

Ratan Tata, Tata Group Chairman (Tata, 2008)