Continuing with its fund-raising spree, Jio Platforms, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), has raised ₹11,367 crore from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) in return for a 2.32 per cent stake.
For PIF, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, this is the single largest investment in India till date.
The stake sale, Jio Platforms’ 11th in the past nine weeks, values Jio Platforms at an equity value of ₹4.91-lakh crore and an enterprise value of ₹5.16-lakh crore, RIL said in a statement.
With this investment, Jio Platforms has raised a total of ₹1,15,693.95 crore from global investors including Facebook, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, KKR, Mubadala, ADIA, TPG and L Catterton, since April.
“We at Reliance have enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for many decades. From oil economy, this relationship is now moving to strengthen India’s new oil (data-driven) economy, as is evident from PIF’s investment into Jio Platforms,” said RIL Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani.
“I have greatly admired the defining role PIF has played in driving the economic transformation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I welcome PIF as a valued partner in Jio Platforms and look forward to its sustained support and guidance as we take ambitious steps to accelerate India’s digital transformation for enriching and empowering the lives of 1.3 billion Indians,” he added.
Morgan Stanley was the financial advisor to RIL and AZB & Partners and Davis Polk & Wardwell were the legal counsels.
“We believe that the potential of the Indian digital economy is very exciting and that Jio Platforms provides us with an excellent opportunity to gain access to that growth,” said Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Governor of PIF. “This investment will also enable us to generate significant long-term commercial returns for the benefit of Saudi Arabia’s economy and our country’s citizens, in line with our mandate to safeguard and grow the national wealth of the Kingdom.”
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