Reliance Industries recently added to its list of backers for Jio Platforms Ltd., Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Co. with a $1.2 billion investment.
This deal gave Abu Dhabi’s sovereign fund a stake of 1.85% at an equity value of $65 billion for Jio Platforms. Reliance is also in talks with Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
This has added to the $10 billion that Jio Platforms has raised in recent weeks as it starts early preparations for an overseas stock listing. Backers from Facebook Inc. to KKR & Co. are betting on its access to India’s population as the country’s number one wireless carrier.
These investments will go toward Ambani’s stated goal of slashing net debt to zero at Reliance Industries, an oil refining, petrochemicals, retail and telecommunications conglomerate that’s India’s largest company. The outside money has also helped set a valuation for Jio as it prepares for a listing. The Mubadala deal gives Reliance Jio an enterprise value of $68 billion, according to Reliance. It has caused Reliance’s shares to soar 80% since March.
