Reliance buys furniture retailer Urban Ladder for Rs 182 crore

Reliance Industries Ltd said on Sunday it has bought a 96% stake in online furniture retailer Urban Ladder for Rs 182.12 crore ($24.4 million), furthering its attempt to expand its presence in India’s online retail market.

The Indian conglomerate is expanding its so-called new commerce venture, which ties neighbourhood stores to Reliance for online deliveries of groceries, apparel and electronics in a space currently dominated by Walmart Inc’s Flipkart and Amazon.com Inc’s Indian arm.

“The aforesaid investment will further enable the group’s digital and new commerce initiatives and widen the bouquet of consumer products provided by the group,” Reliance said in a filing to exchanges on Sunday.

Reliance Retail Ventures Limited, a unit of Reliance Industries, has an option of buying the remaining stake, the company said, adding that it intends to invest a further 750 million rupees by December 2023.

Reliance Industries, controlled by Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, is lining up investors in its retail unit after the conglomerate raised over $20 billion this year from global investors, including Facebook Inc, by selling stakes in its Jio Platforms digital business.

Disclosure: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.