In yet another massive investment into Jio, Reliance Industries and Jio Platforms announced that global investment firm KKR will invest Rs 11,367 crore into Jio Platforms for a 2.32% equity stake in the company. This transaction values Jio Platforms at an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore.
This is KKR’s largest investment in Asia and is making the investment from its Asia private equity and growth technology funds.
Over the last month, leading technology investors, such as, Facebook, Silver Lake, Vista, General Atlantic and KKR have announced aggregate investments of Rs 78,562 crore into the company.
Jio Platforms is a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries, which is a technology platform focused on providing digital services across India, with more than 388 million subscribers.
Jio Platforms has made significant investments across its digital ecosystem, powered by leading technologies spanning broadband connectivity, smart devices, cloud and edge computing, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, augmented and mixed reality and blockchain.
Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, said, “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.”
Founded in 1976, KKR has invested in several businesses in the technology sector, including BMC Software, ByteDance and GoJek through its private equity and technology growth funds.
“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. Jio Platforms is a true homegrown next generation technology leader in India that is unmatched in its ability to deliver technology solutions and services to a country that is experiencing a digital revolution. 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 Asia Pacific,” Henry Kravis, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of KKR, said in a statement.
The transaction is subject to regulatory and other customary approvals.