US-based investment firm General Atlantic recently announced that it will be investing ₹6,600 crore in Mukesh Ambani-led Jio Platforms for a 1.34% stake in the company.
According to a company statement, the investment values Jio Platforms at an equity value of ₹4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of ₹5.16 lakh crore.
“This investment continues to reaffirm Jio as a next-generation software product and platform company,” General Atlantic said in a statement.
With this investment, Jio Platforms has so far raised ₹ 67,194.75 crores from technology investors including Facebook, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners and General Atlantic in less than four weeks.
The new investment into Jio Platforms will add to the $8 billion deal run that RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani has sealed in recent weeks. Facebook Inc. in April agreed to pay $5.7 billion for a 10% stake in the digital unit, while Silver Lake Partners and Vista Equity Partners last week said they would invest about $2.25 billion in total.
Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, said, “I am thrilled to welcome General Atlantic, a marquee global investor, as a valued partner. I have known General Atlantic for several decades and greatly admired it for its belief in India’s huge growth potential. General Atlantic shares our vision of a Digital Society for India and strongly believes in the transformative power of digitization in enriching the lives of 1.3 billion Indians. We are excited to leverage General Atlantic’s proven global expertise and strategic insights across 40 years of technology investing for the benefit of Jio.”
Bill Ford, Chief Executive Officer of General Atlantic, said, “As long-term backers of global technology leaders and visionary entrepreneurs, we could not be more excited about investing in Jio. We share Mukesh’s conviction that digital connectivity has the potential to significantly accelerate the Indian economy and drive growth across the country. General Atlantic has a long track record working alongside founders to scale disruptive businesses, as Jio is doing at the forefront of the digital revolution in India.”
Currently, the transaction is subject to regulatory and other customary approvals. Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisor to Reliance Industries and AZB & Partners, and Davis Polk & Wardwell acted as legal counsel. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, and Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. acted as legal counsel to General Atlantic.
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 make 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 energises Jio’s young team to set, and achieve, even more ambitious goals in our onward march.”
The recent string of investments from technology giants and private equity firms is expected to help Reliance become debt-free. The outside money also helps set a valuation for Jio, which until recently has been largely owned by the billionaire’s conglomerate. The deals, along with its plan to sell $7billion in new shares, will help Reliance meet its target of eliminating $21.4billion of net debt by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is also considering to buy a minority stake in Jio, Bloomberg said in a news report a few days ago.
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