Starbucks, Tetley, Jaguar Land Rover: Remembering Ratan Tata's global ambitions

The former Tata boss's audacious risk-taking saw his firm swallow up a host of iconic foreign brands.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatchHomeNewsUS ElectionSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifyUS ElectionElection pollsKamala HarrisDonald TrumpJD VanceTim WalzSportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessWomen at the HelmFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsUS ElectionSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersStarbucks, Tetley, Jaguar Land Rover: Remembering Ratan Tata's global ambitionsGetty ImagesRatan Tata, seen here in 2016, transformed one of India's oldest business houses into a global powerhouseRatan Tata, the philanthropist and former chairman of Tata Group who has died aged 86, played an instrumental role in globalising and modernising one of India’s oldest business houses.

His ability to take bold, audacious business risks informed a high-profile acquisition strategy that kept the salt-to-steel conglomerate founded 155 years ago by his forefathers relevant after India liberalised its economy in the 1990s.

At the turn of the millennium, Tata executed the biggest cross-border acquisition in Indian corporate history - buying Tetley Tea, the world’s second largest producer of teabags. The iconic British brand was three times the size of the small Tata group company that had bought it.

In subsequent years, his ambitions grew only bigger, as his group swallowed up major British industrial giants like the steelmaker Corus and the luxury car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover.

While the acquisitions didn’t always pay off - Corus was bought at very expensive valuations just before the global financial crisis of 2007, and remained a drag on Tata Steel’s performance for years - they were big power moves.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y8jp386lno

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