Indian multinational conglomerate, Reliance Industries has secured a total of $847 million in capital infusion to its digital platform Jio Platforms with two major deals within a span of 24 hours.
Global investment firm TPG is expected to acquire a 0.93% stake for $598 million, while private equity firm L Catterton eyes a 0.39% stake for $249 million.
Managed by India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Industries has now traded just over 22% of Jio Platforms to investors including high profile stakeholders such as Facebook Inc securing $13.72 billion in eight weeks.
“Jio is a disruptive industry leader that is empowering small businesses and consumers across India by providing them with critical, high-quality digital services.” Jim Coulter, co-CEO – TPG
TPG is an investor in technology companies with stakes in organizations like Airbnb, Uber and Spotify with more than $79 billion of assets under its command. L Catterton on the other hand has an association with French luxury group LVMH and investment firm Groupe Arnault which focuses on delivering consumer-focused brands.
The investments in Jio Platforms, which includes Reliance’s telecoms unit Jio Infocomm and its music and video streaming apps, give the subsidiary an enterprise value of $67.87 billion.
Jio Infocomm is India’s biggest telecoms firm by subscribers, with more than 376 million users. It has pushed out several rivals and driven alliances in the sector since entering the market in 2016 with free voice services and cut-price data.
The Jio Platforms deals, along with a $7 billion share sale, will assist Reliance to meet its objective of paying off $21.4 billion of net debt by the end of the year.
“Jio is a disruptive industry leader that is empowering small businesses and consumers across India by providing them with critical, high-quality digital services.”
