Mumbai: Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) on Sunday announced that Abu Dhabi Investment Authority will invest Rs 5,683.50 crore for a 1.16 per cent stake in Jio Platforms.
Over the past six weeks, Jio Platforms, the digital and telecom business of Reliance Industries Ltd, has raised a striking Rs 97,885.65 crore from global investors for a total 21.06 per cent stake.
This will be the eighth investment in RIL in quick succession following those by social media major Facebook, Abu Dhabi-based sovereign fund Mubadala, Vista Equity Partners, KKR & Co Inc, General Atlantic and twice by American equity giant Silver lake.
This is the largest continuous funds raise by a company anywhere in the world. It is remarkable that this was done amidst a global lockdown, clearly signifying India’s digital potential and Jio’s business strategy, Reliance said in a statement.
RIL had on Friday said Silver Lake and co-investors will invest an additional Rs 4,546.80 crore in Jio Platforms for a total equity stake of 2.08 per cent. On the same day, RIL also announced that Mubadala Investment Company will invest Rs 9,093.60 crore in Jio Platforms for a 1.85 percent equity stake on a fully diluted basis.
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, established in 1976, is a globally-diversified investment institution that invests funds on behalf of the Government of Abu Dhabi through a strategy focused on long-term value creation.
ADIA manages a global investment portfolio that is diversified across more than two dozen asset classes and sub-categories. ADIA has invested in private equity since 1989 and has built a significant internal team of specialists with experience across asset products, geographies and sectors.
The deal with ADIA adds to a recent flurry of fund-raising activity by the oil-to-telecoms giant, controlled by India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, including a Rs 53,124 crore rights issue, with plans to eliminate Rs 1.5 lakh crore of net debt by the end of the year.
RIL on May 22 announced had that private equity firm KKR will invest Rs 11,367 crore in Jio Platforms for a 2.32 per cent stake. The RIL unit comprises mostly its telecom business under Reliance Jio Infocomm, which is the largest in the country with more than 388 million subscribers.
Prior to this, General Atlantic on May 18 said it will buy 1.34 per cent stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 6,598.38 crore, while Vista Equity Partners said on May 8 it will be picking up a 2.32 per cent stake for Rs 11,367 crore.
RIL on Wednesday closed the rights issue, India’s largest ever, luring buyers in with a rare deferred payment offer. Proceeds from the issue were ranked as one of the world’s largest by a non-financial company based on Dealogic data.
The issue was subscribed about 1.6 times, in “a vote of confidence, by both domestic investors, foreign investors and small retail shareholders, in the intrinsic strength of the Indian economy”, chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani said in a statement on Wednesday.
