The world’s largest tech investor had previously invested in billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s digital unit, Jio Platforms Ltd.
Silver Lake Partners, a global major in large scale technology investment, has decided to invest ₹7500 crore in Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL), a subsidy of Reliance Industries Ltd to pick up 1.75% stake on a fully diluted basis.
This investment values RRVL at a pre-money equity value of ₹4.21 lakh crore. This marks the second billion dollar investment by Silver Lake in a Reliance Industries subsidiary after the $1.35 billion (over ₹10,200 crore) investment in Jio Platforms announced earlier this year.
Reliance Retail Ltd, a subsidiary of RRVL, operates a fastest growing retail business serving close to 640 million footfalls across its 12,000 stores nationwide. With more than $60 billion in combined assets under management and committed capital and a focus on the world’s great tech and tech-enabled opportunities, Silver Lake has investments in Airbnb, Alibaba, Alphabet’s Verily and Waymo units, Dell Technologies, Twitter and numerous other global technology leaders.
Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries, said, “I am delighted to extend our relationship with Silver Lake to our transformational efforts of building an inclusive partnership with millions of small merchants while providing value to Indian consumers across the country in the Indian retail sector.”
“We believe technology will be key to bringing the much-needed transformation in this sector so that various constituents of the retail ecosystem can collaborate to build inclusive growth platforms. Silver Lake will be an invaluable partner in implementing our vision for Indian Retail,” he said.
Egon Durban, Co-CEO and Managing Partner, Silver Lake, said, “We are pleased to deepen our relationship with Reliance with this investment. Mukesh Ambani and his team at Reliance have created an outstanding world leader in retail and technology through their courageous vision, commitment to societal benefits, innovation excellence and relentless execution.”
“The success of JioMart in such a short time span, especially while India, along with the rest of the world, battles the COVID-19 pandemic, is truly unprecedented, and the most exciting growth phase has just begun. Reliance’s New Commerce strategy could become the disruptor of this decade,” he said.
The transaction is subject to regulatory and other customary approvals. It is believed that Silver Lake’s investment in Reliance Retail is clear indication that the company will set to lead a disruptive, technology led transformation of Indian retail sector particularly relevant in the post-pandemic India With this investment, Jio Platforms and Reliance Retail account for over ₹9 lakh of RIL valuation. This investment reaffirms RIL’s continuing attraction among global investors.
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