According to reports, Tata Group is in talks to buy Apple vendor Wistron's Karnataka facility.

The transaction will help Tata ramp up the manufacturing capabilities of group company Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd (TEPL) in precision engineering.

According to the Economic Times, the Tata Group is in talks with Taipei's Wistron Corp, one of Apple's three top vendors in India, to buy its sole manufacturing facility in Karnataka for Rs 4,000-5,000 crore.

The transaction will assist Tata in expanding the precision engineering manufacturing capabilities of group company Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd (TEPL).

TEPL is already a component vendor for Apple's iPhones and plans to work with other large Korean and Japanese manufacturers as part of a "larger electronics ecosystem."

The Tata Group declined to comment on ET's inquiries, and emails sent to Wistron were not returned.

Moneycontrol was unable to independently confirm the report.

Bloomberg reported in early September that the Tata group was also planning to establish an electronics manufacturing joint venture with Wistron.

"Tatas will run the show, but Wistron may retain a small stake to capitalise on Apple's global vendor ecosystem," sources told the Economic Times.

TEPL, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons, was established to lead the group's ambitions to become a scaled mobile phone and component contract manufacturer, after group chairman N Chandrasekaran sought to leverage the geopolitical backlash against China and entice smartphone companies such as Apple to alternative manufacturing sites in India.

In India, Apple's top three vendors are Foxconn, Pegatron, and Wistron. In India, Apple currently manufactures the iPhone SE, iPhone 12, iPhone 13, and iPhone 14 (basic) models. All Pro models available in the country are imported.