Tata Tea acquired Tetley Tea through a leveraged buyout (LBO) to gain access to Tetley's international operations and compete globally. An LBO involves using mostly debt rather than equity to finance an acquisition. For the Tata-Tetley deal, a special purpose vehicle was created with equity from Tata Tea and debt financing secured by Tetley's assets. This isolated risk and allowed Tata Tea to purchase Tetley while only contributing equity of 70 million pounds itself. The LBO provided Tata Tea an entry into global tea markets through an established brand.