Mukesh Ambani has sealed another major investment deal for his telecommunications business. Reliance Jio Platforms said it will sell a stake of 1.16% to Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) to raise ₹5,863.50 crores, continuing its eye-catching run of investments at the height of a global pandemic. ADIA is the seventh investor to pick up a stake in the Mukesh Ambani-led company in seven weeks
The three-and-a-half-year-old digital unit Reliance Industries is the most valuable firm in India, has now secured equity value at ₹4.91 lakh crore from seven investors including Facebook, and equity firms like Silver Lake and General Atlantic by selling close to 20% stake.
ADIA’s investment follows that by Mubadala, Abu Dhabi’s second-largest sovereign wealth fund, in Jio Platforms. This comes at a time when India’s online retail industry is in distress due to the pandemic, which has intensely increased the adoption of digital services.
The deal further captures the growing appeal of Jio Platforms to foreign investors looking for a slice of the world’s second-largest internet market. Launched its commercial platforms in 2016, Jio used funds from Reliance’s oil refining business and upended the telecom market by offering mobile data and voice calls at lower prices. The company has about 388m subscribers and it seeks to become India’s answer to China’s Alibaba.