Tata Daewoo
Introduction Ravi Kant felt relief and a tremendous sense of accomplishment. As head of the Commercial Vehicles Division within India's giant Tata Motors, Kant had helped orchestrate the winning bid for Daewoo Commercial Vehicles (DWCV) after the South Korean government decided to auction off the failing company, accepting bids from many of the world's leading auto makers in 2004. Winning the bid had by no means been a sure thing, and Tata had to overcome several obstacles along the way.
Kant recalled a surprising conversation with a mid-level manager at Daewoo's truck division in the Korean port city of Gunsan in 2003. The Koreans preferred one of the European bidders, believing them to be best able to secure the future of Daewoo. Kant realized Tata's bid was seen as a long-shot from a company that was not well-known in Korea The Indian conglomerate would need to launch a massive public relations campaign to change the Koreans' perception of Tata, and help them see what Tata was all about. Tata thus began a process of wooing local officials by showing that they would keep the "Korea in Daewoo." This deal would be Tata's first ever global acquisition, and signified a major breakthrough for the company that wanted to expand and accelerate its entry into new markets in China, Western Europe, South Africa and Latin America.
Tata had chalked out a globalization strategy in early 2003, and had created a merger & acquisition (M&A) team to identify potential acquisition targets. Tata Motors planned to increase exports from Rs. 10 billion in 2004 to Rs. 20 billion by 2005- 06. The company also wanted to enter the Chinese market through joint ventures or technology transfers, but so far these efforts had not materialized. The remainder of this case study addresses how Tata developed and implemented policies to deal with the following issues: How could Tata convince the Koreans that theirs was the best firm to acquire Daewoo? What steps did the Tata
Kant recalled a surprising conversation with a mid-level manager at Daewoo's truck division in the Korean port city of Gunsan in 2003. The Koreans preferred one of the European bidders, believing them to be best able to secure the future of Daewoo. Kant realized Tata's bid was seen as a long-shot from a company that was not well-known in Korea The Indian conglomerate would need to launch a massive public relations campaign to change the Koreans' perception of Tata, and help them see what Tata was all about. Tata thus began a process of wooing local officials by showing that they would keep the "Korea in Daewoo." This deal would be Tata's first ever global acquisition, and signified a major breakthrough for the company that wanted to expand and accelerate its entry into new markets in China, Western Europe, South Africa and Latin America.
Tata had chalked out a globalization strategy in early 2003, and had created a merger & acquisition (M&A) team to identify potential acquisition targets. Tata Motors planned to increase exports from Rs. 10 billion in 2004 to Rs. 20 billion by 2005- 06. The company also wanted to enter the Chinese market through joint ventures or technology transfers, but so far these efforts had not materialized. The remainder of this case study addresses how Tata developed and implemented policies to deal with the following issues: How could Tata convince the Koreans that theirs was the best firm to acquire Daewoo? What steps did the Tata