In bid to buy a 0.84 percent stake in Reliance’s retail arm, American private equity firm General Atlantic has decided to invest a significant $498 million in Reliance Retail. This marks General Atlantic’s second round of investments in Reliance, after it poured $894 million into Reliance’s telecom arm Jio earlier this year.
"…We work towards empowering both merchants and consumers alike, and ultimately transforming Indian retail. Like Reliance Retail, General Atlantic believes in the fundamental ability of digital enablement to drive progress, growth, and inclusion across India and the world", the 63-year old Indian biz wiz said in a statement on Wednesday.
With Reliance Retail, the wealthy owner of the company, Mukesh Ambani, aims to empower India’s small and medium businesses (SMBs) digitally through his telecom network Jio, as he had mentioned earlier this year when Facebook invested $5.8 billion in the purchase of a 9.9 percent stake in Jio.
Speculation is rife that the retail arm of Reliance Industries may be getting a $1 billion investment from Abu Dhabi-based state fund Mubadala Investment Co., as both companies have reportedly entered the advanced discussion phase of the deal.
At the beginning of this year, Reliance Industries became India’s first and only company to cross a market capitalisation of $160 billion.
