| | JULY 20238As per sources, Tata Group is in advanced talks to buy the Karnataka manufacturing unit of Taiwan-based Wistron, a contract manufacturer for Apple, in order to become the first Indian iPhone manufacturer. According to the company, the acquisition will be carried out through Tata Electronics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Sons, the promoter holding firm of the salt-to-software conglomerate Tata Group.Tata Group declined to comment when reached for comment. An e-mail sent to Apple received no response. Wistron was unavailable for comment.According to one of the sources, a public announcement on the development would be dependent on Apple's decision, as the company has tight control over its ecosystem.It is likely that apart from iPhone, once Tata Group takes over the Karnataka plant, other new Apple products could also be assembled from the unit.The latest move by the Tata Group to acquire Apple supplier's unit, is also expected to give fillip to Apple's efforts to tap into production prowess outside of China and drive momentum in the world's second-biggest smartphone market. Michelin, the French tyre company, announced on Monday the appointment of Shantanu Deshpande as Managing Director of its Indian operations. He will be based in Pune. Deshpande held various leadership roles in sales and marketing during his 23-year tenure with Michelin, both in India and in other geographies such as North America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, the company said in a statement.He began his career with Michelin India in 1999 as an Area Sales Manager. In 2007, he was appointed India Marketing Director, where he was instrumental in establishing the company's presence in the country.Deshpande worked as Vice President Marketing for a Michelin subsidiary in North America from 2012 to 2015. From 2015 to 2020, he was Director Marketing B2B Business for Africa, India, and the Middle East, according to the tyre company.Shantanu has been the Global Marketing Director for Michelin Group's Urban Business Line, based in Bangkok, since 2020.Michelin, headquartered in Clermont-Ferrand, France, operates 67 tyre production facilities that will produce approximately 167 million tyres in 2022. ATA GROUP IN FINAL STAGES TO CONCLUDE WISTRON ACQUISITIONSHANTANU DESHPANDE NAMED AS MD OF MICHELIN INDIAIN FOCUSIN FOCUS
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