Sept. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Tata Sons Ltd., the Indian holding company with investments ranging from automakers to hotels, said the credit crisis presents it with opportunities to make acquisitions in the U.S. and Europe.

As access to capital tightens, competition for assets from competitors will dissipate and prices may fall, Alan Rosling, executive director of Mumbai-based Tata Sons, said yesterday in an interview in New York.

Rosling said he's concentrating on the U.S. and Europe because there are fewer opportunities in the developing world. The closely held group already has stakes in companies that operate in the U.S., including Tata Steel Ltd., Eight O'Clock Coffee Co. and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.

``It may well be that businesses become available and there are fewer buyers, or the prices have come down,'' Rosling said of potential targets. ``If you're looking at M&A, it has to be the U.S. and Europe, where opportunities may come up.''

Having a ``long-term, stable, private shareholder'' in Tata Sons means that publicly traded companies within Mumbai-based Tata Group may find it easier to access capital for acquisitions, he said.

Tata Sons's businesses employ 350,000 people in 96 companies across six continents, according to its Web site. The 140-year- old group had sales of $62.5 billion in 2007-2008, 61 percent of which came from outside India, the company said.

While the group's companies with operations in the U.S. work to identify acquisition opportunities, they must also prepare for any potential ``downside,'' because the outcome of the credit crisis remains unclear, Rosling said.

Financial Turmoil

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the third-largest U.S. securities firm, declared bankruptcy last week, while the U.S. government has had to bail out U.S. mortgage insurers Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and insurance company American International Group Inc. A $700 billion plan proposed by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to aid surviving U.S. financial institutions has yet to be passed by U.S. lawmakers.

``There's no doubt that things will be tougher in the next few months than it has been in the last three or four years,'' Rosling said. ``It's unprecedented, what we're living through. Anyone who tells you they understand the full implications are either lying or they're stupid.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Stewart Bailey in New York at sbailey7@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 24, 2008 00:01 EDT