Saudi Arabia's PIF To Buy 2.32 Per Cent Stake In Jio For Rs 11,367 Crore; Eleventh Big Investment In Nearly Two Months

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) on Thursday (18 June) announced an investment of Rs 11,367 crore by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) for 2.32 per cent stake in Jio Platforms, the company said in a statement.

PIF's investment values Jio Platforms 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 Rs 115,693.95 crore from leading global investors including Facebook, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, KKR, Mubadala, ADIA, TPG and L Catterton, since April 2020," RIL said.

PIF is the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia and as part of its mandate to diversify its economy, has made its largest investment into the Indian economy to-date.

“We at Reliance have enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for many decades. From Oil Economy, this relationship is now moving to strengthen India’s New Oil (Data-driven) Economy, as is evident from PIF’s investment into Jio Platforms," said Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries.

With the PIF's investment, RIL has now shed 24.7 percent stake in Jio Platforms.

"I have greatly admired the defining role PIF has played in driving the economic transformation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I welcome PIF as a valued partner in Jio Platforms and look forward to their sustained support and guidance as we take ambitious steps to accelerate India’s digital transformation for enriching and empowering the lives of 1.3 billion Indians,” he added.

“We are delighted to be investing in an innovative business which is at the forefront of the transformation of the technology sector in India. We believe that the potential of the Indian digital economy is very exciting and that Jio Platforms provides us with an excellent opportunity to gain access to that growth," said Yasir Al-Rumayyan, PIF's governor.

It should be noted that this is the eleventh big investment in the Jio Platforms since last two months. The series of investments in Jio was led by a 9.99 percent stake sale to Facebook Inc for Rs 43,574 crore on 22 April.

Silver Lake, a US-based technology investment firm, invested twice in the company in May and June.