Reliance Industries Ltd said on Thursday Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) will invest Rs 11,367 crore ($1.5 billion) in Jio Platforms Ltd, as the oil-to-telecom conglomerate roped in the tenth investor for its digital unit.
The Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund will get a 2.32% stake in Jio Platforms, Reliance said in a statement.
The investment takes the total amount that Jio Platforms has raised within two months from 10 investors to Rs 115,693.95 crore ($15.2 billion).
The other investors are Facebook Inc, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, KKR, Mubadala Investment Company, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, TPG and L Catterton.
Facebook invested Rs 43,574 crore in Jio Platforms, Vista Equity Rs 11,367 crore and General Atlantic Rs 6,598.38 crore. Silver Lake and co-investors are putting in Rs 10,202.55 crore while KKR is investing Rs 11,367 crore. TPG and L Catterton are investing Rs 4,546.8 crore and Rs 1,894.5 crore, respectively.
Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, said the conglomerate has enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for many decades.
“From oil economy, this relationship is now moving to strengthen India’s new oil (data-driven) economy,” he added.
Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor, PIF, said the investment will help the sovereign wealth fund to generate significant long-term commercial returns for the benefit of Saudi Arabia’s economy.
For PIF, which is one of the biggest backers of the SoftBank Vision Fund, this is its largest India investment.
Reliance Industries had created Jio Platforms late last year to house all its digital business while absorbing the entire $13.5-billion debt of its telecom business, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd.
This was seen as a precursor to monetise the telecom business that requires more capital investments to move to a next-generation ecosystem.
Previously, Reliance had spliced out its telecom infrastructure assets including towers and roped in Canadian investor Brookfield to seal the biggest private equity deal ever in India worth some $3.7 billion.
Reliance also plans to sell a 20% stake in its oil-to-chemicals business to Saudi Aramco for around $15 billion.
Morgan Stanley acted as the financial adviser to Reliance Industries. AZB & Partners and Davis Polk & Wardwell acted as legal counsels.
