Reliance Retail raises $1.3 billion from PIF ~ I World Find

Reliance Retail raises $1.3 billion from PIF

Published on November 05, 2020 Category: Ajdi Technology, Tech News, Technically, technology

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The Public Investment Fund, which has this year invested $1.5 billion in Mukesh Ambani’s telecom venture Jio Platforms and more than half a billion dollars in his fiber-optic business, has returned to back yet another empire built by India’s richest man.

The sovereign wealth fund is investing $1.3 billion in Reliance Retail for a 2.04% equity stake in the largest retail chain in India. The investment values Reliance Retail, which was founded in 2006, at $62.4 billion (up from about $58 billion last month), the Indian firm said.

Reliance Retail, which serves more than 3.5 million customers each week (as of early this year) through its nearly 10,000 physical stores in more than 6,500 cities and towns in the country, has now raised over 6.4 billion since September this year.

Ambani (pictured above), who raised more than $20 billion for Jio Platforms this year from a roster of marquee investors including Facebook and Google, is expected to raise another few billion dollars for Reliance Retail by the end of the year. One of the companies that is widely expected to invest in Reliance Retail is Amazon, which has poured in over $6.5 billion in its India business to date.

The two commerce giants are currently stuck in a deadlock over Reliance’s $3.4 billion acquisition of several businesses of Future Retail, the second largest retail chain in India. Amazon, which owns a small stake in one of Future Retail’s subsidiaries, is fighting a legal battle to block the deal between Reliance and Future Retail. Future Retail and Reliance Industries have said that they intend to proceed with their deal.

“We at Reliance have a long-standing relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. PIF is at the forefront of the economic transformation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I welcome PIF as a valued partner in Reliance Retail and look forward to their sustained support and guidance as we continue our ambitious journey to transform India’s retail sector for enriching the lives of 1.3 billion Indians and millions of small merchants,” said Ambani, who runs Reliance Retail’s parent firm, Reliance Industries, in a statement today.