Reliance Jio-Facebook $5.7 bn partnership: Mark Zuckerberg-led social media firm to get deeper access to India; deal to help reduce RIL debt burden

On 22 April, Facebook announced it is investing $5.7 billion in Reliance Industries’ Jio platforms. What does the deal mean to both firms? The deal will give Facebook deeper access to India, the second-largest internet market after China. The deal will help reduce RIL’s debt burden, which bulged due to the breakneck expansion of Jio and other businesses. Facebook has bought a 9.9 percent stake in Reliance Jio in a multinational-dollar deal. Facebook will have direct exposure to Reliance Jio’s subscriber base. [caption id=“attachment_3916133” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] After Rs 43,574 crore deal between Facebook and Jio, the investment values Jio Platforms among the top-5 listed firms in India by market capitalisation. This investment by Facebook values Jio Platforms at Rs 4.62 lakh crore pre-money enterprise value ($65.95 billion, assuming a conversion rate of Rs 70 to a US Dollar) The Jio-FB deal is worth more than the GDP of some Indian states/UTs. This deal would aid RIL in achieving zero-debt status by March 2021. Reliance Industries share price rose over 8 percent in intraday trade on 22 April after Facebook announced the investment in the company’s telecom unit. (Disclaimer: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd which publishes Firstpost)