‘We need to think big and act bold’

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: With his $12.1-billion acquisition of Anglo-Dutch steel maker Corus, Ratan Tata, 69, has just changed the rules of the game for Indian companies and, indeed, the way acquisitions will be seen in the future. The stock markets battered the Tata Steel scrip initially on concerns that the Tatas might have overpaid at 608 pence a share. But the stock rebounded Friday, signaling that the market might also have begun absorbing the fine print. Fresh from his dramatic victory over Brazilian rival CSN, Tata responded to questions by Papiya De, MG Arun and Sourav Majumdar, talking of his strategy, the key aspects of the acquisition and the road ahead for India Inc. Excerpts:

Former finance minister Yashwant Sinha went on record in our paper saying aggression is a recent trait in the Tata group. Your comments.

As a group, we have always had the vision, but the policy framework earlier was restrictive in nature. As an Indian entrepreneur, I can say a lot has changed and policies are much friendlier now. As a group, we have taken a view that our entire market place is not India alone and would like to see growth in certain geographies where we can make an impact. So, companies have either sought investment opportunities or acquisitions for inorganic growth both in India and outside. I think many companies like ours will be going overseas and expanding in other countries just like other corporates that have been looking at India.

You have made several overseas acquisitions before this. Which was the most challenging, and why?

When we undertake to acquire a company , we spend a lot of time before convincing ourselves that the cultures of the two companies are similar because nothing can be more destructive than to have conflicting cultures. Therefore , in most of our acquisitions, you will find that the management of the company we have acquired or bought into remains with that company and over time integrates itself with the Tata group.

That will be true with Tetley, NatSteel, Daewoo Motors and many others that we have acquired. So, there are challenges with different nationalities and with different work systems. By and large, it has worked reasonably well.