Tatas eyeing US auto-part makers

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The Tata group, which is already bidding for Ford Motor Co’s Jaguar and Land Rover, might buy auto-parts makers in the US, an executive said.

Tata AutoComp Systems, a supplier of vehicle components, is “interested in growing inorganically”’ through acquisitions, Alan Rosling, executive director of holding company Tata Sons Ltd, said in an interview in Washington.

“If your customer is selling vehicles, you can’t be supplying parts” from elsewhere, he said. “You have to have a point of presence close to the customer.”’

Tata AutoComp’s US activity is now limited to engineering and sales operations in Troy, Michigan. Earlier this year, the Tatas were among companies that expressed an interest in purchasing automotive seat maker Lear Corp during a management-backed buyout bid that was rejected by shareholders.

Any acquisition would add to the Tatas’ US operations, which last year accounted for 31% of the company’s $6.7-billion revenue from international sales. The value of US and European mergers and acquisitions triggered by Indian buyers jumped 80% to $50.9 billion through June from a year earlier, according to financial consulting firm Grant Thornton.

“They are clearly itching to do something more globally,” said James Gillette, an automotive supplier analyst with CSM Worldwide Inc in Grand Rapids, Michigan. “It’s apparent they either have the cash or credit to do it.”

In addition to auto parts, the Tatas were looking for US acquisitions in hotels, beverages and information technology, Rosling said.

The group attempted to make an offer for Southfield, Michigan-based Lear, competing against billionaire Carl Icahn earlier this year. The Tatas dropped their interest after a private equity partner withdrew support, according to a US regulatory filing made by Lear.

The Tatas also make auto seats in India through a joint venture with Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls Inc, the world’s largest seat maker. Lear is the second-largest.

Rosling declined to comment on the Tata’s interest in Visteon or Lear or the bid for Jaguar and Land Rover. Ford on Thursday said it would announce the buyer for its British luxury units early next year.

Tata group chairman Ratan Tata confirmed his company’s bid for Jaguar and Land Rover in a TV interview last month.