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Strategies & Market Trends : Speculating in Takeover Targets -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: richardred who wrote (1982)	3/9/2008 12:44:48 AM
From: richardred	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7239

Taco scouts US again for buyout Sindhu Bhattacharya/ DNA MONEY Friday, 07 March , 2008, 08:52 Last Updated: Friday, 07 March , 2008, 09:30 Tata AutoComp Systems is again scouting the United States for acquisitions in the vehicle interiors and electronics space. In the middle of last year, the auto component arm of the Tata Group had expressed interest in buying Lear Corp, an automotive seat, electrical distribution systems and select electronic products maker, but the acquisition deal was never concluded. Budget 2008-09 Raman Nanda, president (marketing & sales), Taco, told DNA Money: "The company is keen on inorganic growth. Plastics and interiors, besides electronics, are the key areas of interest for us at the moment". When asked about the acquisition size, he said, "Raising money is not an issue" but declined further comments. Already, the manufacturing facility of German component supplier Wündsch Weidinger, which produces functional plastic parts and systems and was acquired by Taco earlier, plans to go on stream shortly. Taco has also established a facility in Nanjing, China, for the global supply of plastic parts. Taco's search for a suitable acquisition target in the US comes just when the company is eyeing a $1 billion turnover mark. It already has several joint ventures with the world's leading component suppliers. One such JV, with Japan's GS Yuasa for automotive batteries, is already charting an expansion plan which would increase its manufacturing capacity manifold, to 6 million units in the next two years. Tata AutoComp GY Batteries, which started operations just last year, plans to quadruple its four-wheeler battery capacity to 2 million by next year and is also gearing up for producing two-wheeler batteries. "We have been importing two-wheeler batteries from Thailand, but by 2009, we intend to start producing them here," said CEO Yogesh Dhawan. The expansion of battery capacity would require an investment of about Rs 65 crore in a year. TAGB is already an original equipment supplier to Tata Motors' Ace, Nano and Indica platform vehicles, besides the Piaggio mini truck, Ape. It is increasing its dealer network to 5,000 from the current 4,000 as part of its plan to capture 10 per cent of the organised four-wheeler battery market of about 13 million units. sify.com