The deal places Jio Platforms' equity value at Rs 4.91 lakh crore.
Reliance Industries said on Friday that US-based Vista Equity Partners will invest Rs 11,367 crore in Jio Platforms. The deal will value Jio Platforms, which houses Reliance Industries's telecoms arm Reliance Jio Infocomm, at an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore. In a statement released early on Friday, billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries said Vista's investment will translate into a 2.32 per cent equity stake in Jio Platforms, making Vista the largest investor in Jio Platforms behind Reliance Industries and Facebook.
Commenting on the transaction with Vista, Mr. Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries Ltd, said, “I am delighted to welcome Vista, one of the world's marquee tech investors globally as a valued partner. Like our other partners, Vista also shares with us the same vision of continuing to grow and transform the Indian digital ecosystem for the benefit of all Indians. They believe in the transformative power of technology to be the key to an even better future for everyone.”
Jio Platforms has now raised Rs 60,596.37 crore from leading technology investors in less than three weeks, Reliance Industries said.
This is the third high profile-investment in Reliance Jio in the past one month. On April 22, the US-based social media giant Facebook Inc had invested Rs 43,574 crore to purchase a stake of 9.99 per cent in Jio Platforms, which is a part of the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries group.
And subsequently on May 4, private equity firm Silver Lake decided to invest Rs 5,656 crore ($746.74 million) in In Jio Platforms, giving it a valuation of Rs 4.90 lakh crore. The transaction is subject to regulatory and other customary approvals.
Meanwhile, Reliance Jio reported a 177.5 per cent growth in profit in the fourth quarter (January-March), to Rs 2,331 crore, up from Rs 840 crore in the same quarter last year. For the entire financial year, Jio's net profit rose from Rs 2,964 crore in 2018-19 to Rs 5,562 crore in 2019-20, an annual increase of 88 per cent.
Reliance Jio, the fast-growing telecom carrier controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, began operations in late 2016. It provides telecom and digital services under brand Jio, and provides a connectivity platform to more than 38.8 crore subscribers. Reliance Industries is the country's most valued company, whose activities span hydrocarbon exploration and production, petroleum refining and marketing, petrochemicals, retail and digital services.
Vista is a leading global investment firm focused on investing in cutting edge tech companies in their early stage,
RIL occupies the numero uno position in the ranking of top-10 firms by market capitalisation. The shares of Reliance Industries soared 3.1 per cent to Rs 1,507 on the BSE on Thursday.
