- General Atlantic, an investment firm in the United States, will invest some 6,600 crores in Jio Platforms for a 1.34 percent stake in Reliance Industries’ telecom unit.
General Atlantic, an investment firm in the United States, will invest some 6,600 crores in Jio Platforms for 1.34 percent stake in Reliance Industries’ telecom unit, the company said in a statement.
In the past, General Atlantic funded Airbnb Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc.,
“This investment values Jio Platforms at a share valuation of about 4.91 lakh crore and corporate value of about 5.16 lakh crore,” Jio Platforms said. This investment continues to reaffirm Jio as a company that produces and platforms next-generation software, the company said in a statement.
Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani said: “I am delighted to welcome General Atlantic, a global investor bark, as a valued partner. I have known General Atlantic for several decades and have greatly admired it for its belief in the enormous potential for growth in India. General Atlantic shares our vision of a Digital Society for India and strongly believes in digitization’s transformative power to enrich the lives of 1.3 billion Indians. We ‘re excited to leverage proven global expertise and strategic insights from General Atlantic over 40 years of technology investing in Jio ‘s advantage.
General Atlantic chief executive Bill Ford said: “As long-term supporters of global technology leaders and visionary entrepreneurs, we couldn’t be more excited about investing in Jio. We share Mukesh ‘s conviction that digital connectivity has the potential to accelerate the Indian economy significantly and drive nationwide growth. General Atlantic has a long history of working alongside founders to scale up disruptive businesses, as Jio does at the forefront of India’s digital revolution.
Morgan Stanley served as financial advisor to Reliance Industries and AZB & Partners and Davis Polk & Wardwell served as legal adviser. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, and Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co., were General Atlantic’s legal counsel.
The latest investment in Jio Platforms would add to the $8 billion deal run that has been signed in recent weeks by RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani. In April, Facebook Inc. agreed to pay $5.7 billion for a 10 percent stake in the digital business, while last week, Silver Lake Partners and Vista Equity Partners said they would spend a total of about $2.25 billion.
Akash Ambani, Director of Reliance Jio, said “We are delighted that a renowned global investor like General Atlantic is partnering with us in our journey to digitally empower India and Indians. Jio is committed to making a digitally inclusive India that will provide immense opportunities to every Indian citizen especially to our highly talented youth. General Atlantic’s endorsement and partnership energizes Jio’s young team to set, and achieve, even more, ambitious goals in our onward march.”
Investors are betting on Jio ‘s exposure to India ‘s vast consumer market and its ability to shake up the country ‘s conventional industries with its technology — from retail to education and payments. India is the only major open Internet market where foreign technology giants like Amazon.com. Inc., Walmart Inc., and parent Google Alphabet Inc. can compete for market share.
At Reliance Industries, which is owned by Mukesh Ambani, the string of investments from technology companies and private equity firms will go towards slashing debts. The external capital also helps to set a price for Jio, which was largely owned by the conglomerate of the billionaire until recently.
The deals, along with its plan to sell $7bn in new shares, will help Reliance meet its goal of eliminating $21.4bn in net debt by year-end.
This is the fourth foreign investment in Jio Platforms this year. Before this, last week Vista Partners acquired a 2.3 percent stake. Silver Lake also invested to acquire 1.15 percent. Last month, Facebook invested $5.7 billion for a 9.9 percent stake.
