Reliance Industries Ltd said on Wednesday private equity firm General Atlantic will invest 36.75 billion rupees ($498.31 million) for a 0.84% stake in its retail arm, sending shares of the country’s most valuable company up as much as 1%. The deal underscores growing investor interest in the Mukesh Ambani-led company’s expansion plans as it diversifies from its mainstay oil-and-gas business. Reliance is being seen as a formidable rival to Amazon.com Inc and Walmart Inc’s Flipkart as they battle for market dominance in India.
Here’s all you need to know:
– The investment gives Reliance Retail a pre-money valuation of 4.29 trillion rupees ($58.17 billion)
– Chairman Mukesh Ambani said Reliance would leverage General Atlantic’s “extensive expertise at the intersection of technology and consumer businesses” to expand its new commerce venture, tying neighbourhood stores for online deliveries of groceries, apparel and electronics.
– Bill Ford, Chief Executive Officer of General Atlantic, said, “General Atlantic shares Reliance Industries’ foundational belief in the power of technology to foster transformative growth, and we are excited by the immense potential of the full Reliance ecosystem. We are honoured to again be partnering with the Reliance team to meaningfully accelerate India’s position in the global digital economy.”
– With the latest investment from General Atlantic — which has also invested in Airbnb, Slack and Uber — Reliance has now raised around $2.3 billion for its retail arm.
– This marks the second investment by General Atlantic in a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, following a Rs 6,598.38 crore investment in Jio Platforms announced earlier this year.
– Reliance Industries’ shares rose as much as 1% to 2,267 rupees
– Reliance, which in May launched an online grocery service, also operates around 12,000 brick and mortar stores.
Disclosure: News18.com is part of Network18 Media & Investment Limited which is owned by Reliance Industries Limited
Comments
0 comment