KKR to invest Rs 11,367 cr in Reliance Jio for 2.32% stake, fifth deal in less than a month

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) on Friday announced that private equity firm KKR will invest Rs 11,367 crore in Jio Platforms for a 2.32 percent stake. This is the fifth big-ticket deal announced by the oil-retail-to-telecom conglomerate in the past month. “This transaction values Jio Platforms at an equity value of Rs4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore. This is KKR’s largest investment in Asia and will translate into a 2.32 percent equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis,” RIL said in a release on Friday.

KKR's investment of Rs 11,367 cr will be for a  2.32% equity stake & is KKR’s largest investment in Asia. pic.twitter.com/4akDVee272

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Prior to this, General Atlantic on 18 May said it will buy 1.34 percent stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 6,598.38 crore, while Vista Equity Partners said on 8 May it will be picking up a 2.32 percent stake for Rs 11,367 crore. Prior to that, US private equity firm Silver Lake said it will invest Rs 5,655.75 crore in Jio Platforms for a 1.15 percent stake and on April 22, Facebook said it would invest $5.7 billion for a 9.99 percent stake. With the latest deal, Jio Platforms will get a combined Rs 78,562 crore from the five investments. The RIL unit comprises mostly its telecom business under Reliance Jio Infocomm, which is the largest in the country with more than 388 million subscribers. [caption id=“attachment_8288711” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. News18.[/caption] Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, in a statement on Friday said, “I am delighted to welcome KKR, one of the world’s most respected financial investors, as a valued partner in our onward march to growing and transforming the Indian digital ecosystem for the benefit of all Indians. KKR shares our ambitious goal of building a premier Digital Society in India. KKR has a proven track record of being a valuable partner to industry-leading franchises and has been committed to India for many years. We are looking forward to leveraging KKR’s global platform, industry knowledge and operational expertise to further grow Jio.” KKR is making the investment from its Asia private equity and growth technology funds. The transaction is subject to regulatory and other customary approvals. Henry Kravis, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of KKR, said, “Few companies have the potential to transform a country’s digital ecosystem in the way that Jio Platforms is doing in India, and potentially worldwide. Jio Platforms is a true homegrown next generation technology leader in India that is unmatched in its ability to deliver technology solutions and services to a country that is experiencing a digital revolution. We are investing behind Jio Platforms’ impressive momentum, world-class innovation and strong leadership team, and we view this landmark investment as a strong indicator of KKR’s commitment to supporting leading technology companies in India and Asia Pacific.” KKR has a long history of building leading global enterprises and successfully investing in businesses in the technology sector, including BMC Software, ByteDance and GoJek through its private equity and technology growth funds. Since inception, the firm has invested over $30 billion (total enterprise value) in tech companies, and today the firm’s technology portfolio has more than 20 companies across the technology, media and telecom sectors. (Disclaimer: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd which publishes Firstpost)