Saudi wealth fund gets Jio connection

New Delhi, June 18

Reliance Industries Ltd on Thursday said it has sold a 2.32% stake in its digital unit to Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) for Rs 11,367 crore, taking the cumulative fund raising to about Rs 1.16 lakh crore in two months.

Starting with Facebook Inc on April 22, Reliance has sold almost 25% of equity in Jio Platforms — the maximum reports suggest the company intends to dilute to financial investors.

The investment by Saudi sovereign wealth fund is "at an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore", the company said.

With this investment, Jio Platforms has raised Rs 115,693.95 crore from some of the leading global investment powerhouses at a time when the world is deeply impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, resulting in a recession kind of environment for the global economy.

"With the addition of PIF’s investment, Jio Platforms has established partnerships with a marquee set of global financial investors, who will contribute to establishing the Digital Society vision for India," the statement said.

Jio Platforms houses India's biggest telecom firm by subscribers, Reliance Jio. With more than 388 million users, Jio has forced out several rivals and driven consolidation in the sector since entering the market in 2016 with free voice services and cut-price data.

Over the past two months, Ambani's conglomerate has announced the sale of about $14 billion of assets, completed a Rs 53,124-crore rights issue and slowed the run rate of new investment by a quarter. — PTI

About the deal

• Starting with Facebook on April 22, Reliance has sold almost 25% of equity in Jio Platforms
• The investment by Saudi sovereign wealth fund is at an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore
• With this investment, Jio Platforms has raised Rs115,693.95 crore from leading global investment powerhouses

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