Uber seals $100mn+ deal with Tata Group to crack Indian market
Wed 19 Aug 2015
India-based Tata Group has signed a deal with ride-sharing giant Uber, pushing almost $100mn into a partnership which will see the U.S. firm collaborate with Tata’s 100+ companies.
Tata Opportunities Fund (TOF), Tata’s private equity business, said today that it would be making the “significant” investment. It declined to comment on the exact stake percentage.
The “strategic” move with India’s largest conglomerate comes just weeks after Uber announced it was investing $1bn in its India business, which will now take a key position in its global expansion plans.
The Tata partnership marks Uber’s largest investment collaboration in India, after The Times of India’s Times Internet bought a smaller share for Rs. 150 crore (approx. £15mn) in March. Uber also finalised an overseas investment deal with cash-rich Chinese internet firm Baidu in December last year, amid its push into emerging markets.
“This is TOF’s first investment in a company based outside India. We are delighted to support Uber’s growth and continued success around the globe, more recently in China and India. Uber’s technology continues to transform the way millions of people commute while creating economic opportunities for hundreds of thousands of first time entrepreneurs (drivers and owners), who value the flexibility it offers,” said Padmanabh Sinh of the TOF Managing Partner Advisory Team.
Uber currently operates in 18 cities in the country – second only in number of locations to the U.S. – and is looking to scale this number rapidly in its attempt to compete with domestic taxi-app rival Ola.
Mumbai-based Tata owns a wide-ranging portfolio of businesses, including British automaker Jaguar Land Rover. It has also recently closed deals with global companies such as Starbucks and Singapore Airlines [paywalled].
President of Uber India, Amit Jain said that the company was “excited to be partnering with the Tata Group.”
