Tata Motors in Talks to Acquire European Truckmaker Iveco

Homegrown automaker Tata Motors is in early talks to acquire Iveco Group, a leading European truck manufacturer, according to a Reuters report citing three sources familiar with the matter.

Two of the sources said Tata Motors has approached Exor, the investment arm of Italy’s influential Agnelli family, to explore a potential acquisition of its controlling stake in the Turin-based company. However, the report clarified that the proposed deal would not include Iveco’s defence business (IDV), which is set to be spun off or sold separately by the end of 2025.

Neither Exor nor Iveco offered a comment, and Tata Motors did not respond to Reuters’ request for one.

A third source told the agency that as the separation of the defence unit progresses, Exor has begun holding discussions with more than one non-European buyer for the remainder of Iveco’s business. This is the first time that Tata’s interest in Iveco has been publicly reported.

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Exor currently owns 27.1% of Iveco’s equity and 43.1% of its voting rights. Iveco, which also makes buses and engines, has a market capitalisation of roughly €4.2 billion ($4.9 billion). It is the smallest of Europe’s top truck manufacturers, behind Volvo, Daimler, and Traton, and has often been viewed as a likely M&A target.

However, Iveco’s ties to the defence sector have complicated past takeover efforts. In 2021, the Italian government blocked a bid for Iveco by Chinese automaker FAW, citing strategic concerns. Iveco was then part of CNH Industrial, also controlled by the Agnelli family. It was spun off and separately listed in 2022.

According to two of Reuters’ sources, Iveco has received three offers for its defence division: a joint bid from Leonardo and Rheinmetall, and separate bids from KNDS and the Czechoslovak Group (CSG). Bloomberg has reported that the division could be valued at up to €1.9 billion.

Iveco employs around 36,000 people, including 14,000 in Italy. Any acquisition of the company is expected to fall under Italy’s "golden power" legislation, which allows the government to review and impose conditions on deals involving firms of national strategic interest.