Private equity firm KKR has poured Rs 2,069.5 crore (about $250 million) as additional capital into Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd, a unit of the oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd, at a valuation of around $100 billion.
The investment increases KKR’s stake in Reliance Retail Ventures to 1.42% from 1.17%, the two companies said in a statement. KKR previously invested Rs 5,550 crore in Reliance Retail in 2020. Its fresh investment comes primarily from its Asian Fund IV.
“Throughout our investment period in Reliance Retail, we have been impressed by the company’s vision and extensive work to empower retailers across India through digitalization, as well as by its resilience and performance in spite of the pandemic and other disruptions,” said Joe Bae, co-CEO at KKR.
The latest deal comes less than three weeks after Qatar Investment Authority, the Gulf nation’s sovereign wealth fund, invested Rs 8,278 crore in Reliance.
The two transactions are part of Reliance Retail’s reported plan to raise as much as $3.5 billion from private investors before it potentially floats an initial public offering.
The fundraising comes three years after India's biggest retailer raised Rs 47,265 crore ($6.4 billion then) by selling a 10.09% stake to PE firms KKR, TPG, Silver Lake Partners and General Atlantic as well as sovereign wealth funds Saudi Public Investment Fund, Abu Dhabi's Mubadala and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and Singapore's GIC.
Reliance Retail said it is raising the new funding from KKR at a pre-money equity value of Rs 8.361 trillion (about $100 billion). This is nearly double than the pre-money equity value of Rs 4.21 trillion in 2020 and makes it among the top four companies by equity value in the country, the company said.
Reliance Retail has grown rapidly since 2020, acquiring many smaller companies and brands across categories ranging from apparel and pharmacy to grocery and furniture. The company has a network of more than 18,500 stores and digital commerce platforms including JioMart.
The company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 9,181 crore for the year ended March 31, 2023, on revenue of Rs 2.6 trillion.
