Tata to buy Spanish bus co pie

Tata Motors on Friday announced it was acquiring a 21 per cent stake in Hispano Carrocera (HC), a Spanish bus manufacturing company, for Euro 12 million (Rs 70 crore), with an option to acquire the entire equity of the foreign company later.

The deal involves equity, debt and technology licensing.

This is Tata Motors' second overseas acquisition after it took over South Korea's Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company for $102 million, the largest Indian acquisition in South Korea.

Hispano Carrocera has a 25 per cent share of the bus market in Spain and sells buses in Europe and several countries outside Europe.

Tata Motors will have the licence for the technology and brand rights of Hispano Carrocera. The Spanish company has its own in-house product development facility for buses and coaches.

Ravi Kant, executive director (commercial vehicle business unit) Tata Motors, said, "This strategic alliance with Hispano Carrocera will give us access to its design and technological capabilities to fully tap the growing potential of this segment in India and other export markets, besides providing us with a foothold in developed European markets."