Reliance Industries confirmed a heavy investment by Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Investment in its technology subsidiary, the latest in a run of financial input which takes the total raised to almost $12 billion in six weeks.
The UAE fund pumped INR90.9 billion ($1.2 billion) into Jio Platforms a matter of days after reports first mooted the move. The investment gives Mubadala Investment a 1.85 per cent stake, and brings the total raised for the Indian tech business in recent weeks to $11.6 billion.
Reliance Industries sold just under 19 per cent in the digital arm, with the latest investment giving the unit a valuation of $68.4 billion, the company said.
Jio Platforms operates broadband and online commerce services, including the nation’s largest mobile operator by subscribers, Reliance Jio.
Khaldoon Al Mubarak, MD and group CEO of Mubadala Investment, said it was attracted by Jio Platforms’ transformation of the nation’s communications and connectivity, with the UAE company “committed to supporting India’s digital growth journey”.
“With Jio’s network of investors and partners, we believe that the platform company will further the development of the digital economy.”
Further interest
Software giant Microsoft was also linked to a move on Jio Platforms, with a $2 billion investment.
Reliance Industries announced recently it aims to be debt free by end-March 2021.
India’s fast-growing mobile market attracted considerable attention from US tech companies in the current quarter, with Google reportedly mulling a 5 per cent stake in struggling joint venture Vodafone Idea and Amazon apparently in the early stages of talks around a $2 billion investment in Bharti Airtel.
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