In the past month, Reliance Jio has bagged five investments from global giants such as Facebook, Vista, Silver Lake, General Atlantic, and most recently, KKR. This brings the total foreign investment in the company to ₹78,562 crores. All of these investments are aimed to help RIL reach its zero net debt target by March 2021.
KKR is a global investment firm that manages private equity and multiple alternative asset classes. The company bought a 2.32% stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis for ₹11,367 crores. This puts the equity value of Reliance Jio at ₹4.91 lakh crores and enterprise value at ₹5.16 lakh crores. The investment has been done through KKR’s Asia private equity and growth technology funds. The transaction is subject to regulatory and other customary approvals.
Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, said in a statement, “I am delighted to welcome KKR, one of the world’s most respected financial investors, as a valued partner in our onward march to growing and transforming the Indian digital ecosystem for the benefit of all Indians. KKR shares our ambitious goal of building a premier Digital Society in India. KKR has a proven track record of being a valuable partner to industry-leading franchises and has been committed to India for many years. We are looking forward to leveraging KKR’s global platform, industry knowledge, and operational expertise to further grow Jio.”
Henry Kravis, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of KKR said, “Few companies have the potential to transform a country’s digital ecosystem in the way that Jio Platforms is doing in India, and potentially worldwide. We are investing behind Jio Platforms’ impressive momentum, world-class innovation, and strong leadership team, and we view this landmark investment as a strong indicator of KKR’s commitment to supporting leading technology companies in India and the Asia-Pacific.”
KKR has previously invested in many Asian companies like ByteDance, and GoJek through their private equity and growth technology funds. The firm has invested over $30 billion in tech companies. In addition, India has been a key strategic market for KKR with a history of investing in the country since 2006.
Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisor to Reliance Industries, and AZB & Partners and Davis Polk & Wardwell acted as legal counsel in the transaction. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP acted as financial advisor to KKR. Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP acted as legal counsel to KKR.
