Reliance Jio now bringing in equity investors at the rate of two a day; raises over Rs 1 lakh cr so far

Reliance Jio has added two more overseas investors to the long list of equity investors who have now put in over Rs 1 lakh crore combined for a piece of Mukesh Ambani’s digital and telecom services venture. Reliance Industries Ltd on Saturday evening announced that the US-based private equity firm TPG would invest Rs 4,547 crore for a 0.93% equity stake in Jio Platforms. A few hours later, it also announced that consumer focused private equity firm L Catterton would invest Rs 1,895 crore for a further 0.39% equity stake in the company. With today’s two announcements, Reliance Industries group has raised a total investment of over Rs 1.04 lakh crore, by selling a combined 22.28% equity stake in Jio Platforms. Both TPG and L Catterton investments are made at an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore for Reliance Jio Platforms, the same as the other recent investments by KKR, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and others.

In the last seven weeks before today, Reliance Industries group has raised nearly Rs 98,000 crore for Jio Platforms from global firms including social media giant Facebook, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, KKR, Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor Mubadala, and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook acquired the largest share in Jio Platforms at 9.99% equity stake. Private equity firms KKR, Vista Equity Partners and Silver Lake got a little over 2% equity stake each in the Reliance group firm.

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Reliance Industries said in a statement that L Catterton’s deep customer understanding will bolster Reliance Jio’s technology initiatives for Indian consumers. With regard to the TPG investment, Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani said: “Today, I am happy to welcome TPG as valued investors in our continued efforts towards digitally empowering the lives of Indians through the creation of a digital ecosystem.” TPG Co-CEO Jim Coulter said: “Jio is a disruptive industry leader that is empowering small businesses and consumers across India by providing them with critical, high-quality digital services. The company is bringing unmatched potential and execution capabilities to the market, setting the tone for all technology companies to come.”

TPG is making the investment from its TPG Capital Asia, TPG Growth, and TPG Tech Adjacencies (TTAD) funds, RIL said in the statement. Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisor to Reliance Industries, while AZB & Partners and Davis Polk & Wardwell acted as legal counsels for the company for both TPG and L Catterton deals. Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co acted as legal counsel for TPG.

The massive fundraising activity by Reliance Industries for Jio Platforms would help it become a net zero-debt company ahead of the March 2021 target. The stake sales will also provide it with foreign capital and strategic partnerships needed to become an end-to-end digital services provider covering telecom, data, content, entertainment, e-commerce, education, and more. Jio Platforms, Reliance Industries’ digital services umbrella unit, currently has nearly 39 crore subscribers.