Saudi wealth fund PIF invests ₹11,367 cr in Jio Platforms
MUMBAI: Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, Public Investment Fund or PIF, on Thursday, announced an investment of ₹11,367 crore in Jio Platforms Ltd, the digital assets unit of Reliance Industries Ltd.
With this investment, Jio Platforms has raised about ₹1.16 trillion from 11 investors in just eight weeks, signifying the rapid digitisation opportunity in India and emergence of latest technologies such as AI, Blockchain, AR/VR, Big data for individuals and businesses.
Starting with Facebook’s ₹43,574 crore investment announced on April 22, Jio Platforms has secured investment commitment from a number of large global private equity players including Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, KKR, Mubadala, ADIA, TPG, L Catterton and now PIF.
The PIF deal takes the total acquisition commitment by foreign investors in Jio Platforms at 24.71%.
The deals are aimed at helping RIL become net debt-free by March 2021. RIL, as on December 31, had net debt of ₹1.53 lakh crore.
However, the actual inflow of investment money from the deals announced so far is likely to hinge on the Indian regulators’ approval on the partnership proposed between Facebook and Jio Platforms, which is being examined by antitrust authority, Competition Commission of India.
Facebook, with over 300 million customers in India and Jio
Platforms with about 388 million, plan to tap their combined user base to extend digital payments and e-commerce services in the country.
Facebook’s messaging platform WhatsApp, which has about 450 million users, also plans to partner Jio Platforms to enable customers in India order household items from neighbourhood groceries at their doorsteps using the JioMart platform.
The PIF deal values Jio Platforms at ₹4.91 lakh crore, like the previous deals. It will give PIF a 2.32% stake in Jio Platforms.
“We at Reliance have enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for many decades,” said Reliance Industries Ltd’s chairman Mukesh Ambani.