Reliance Retail Ventures Limited, the retail arm of Reliance Industries Ltd has announced on Wednesday that they have secured an investment from General Atlantic. According to reports from the company, General Atlantic will invest ₹ 3675 crores into Reliance Retail Ventures Limited. This investment from General Atlantic puts the value of Reliance Retail at a pre-money equity value of ₹ 4.285 lakh crores. The investment from General Atlantic would translate to a 0.84% equity stake in RRVL on a fully diluted basis.
Reliance Ventures Retail Limited has been securing investments from various sources in recent weeks. A few days ago, California Based Silver Lake Partners To Invest ₹7,500 Crores In Reliance Retail For 1.75 Percent Stake. Reliance Retail is estimated to put together ₹13,050 crores in the past few weeks from private equity company Silver Lake Partners and US buyout firm KKR & Co. KKR & Co. bought a 1.28 percent stake in the company.
Mukesh Ambani, the richest man of India who has put together a sum of ₹ 2,77,700 crore through a series of fund-raising and strategic investments, also finds topping the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List of 2020. He is also listed as the fourth richest man in the world by Bloomberg. Entering into the telecom industry with Jio just four years earlier, he has made it into an iconic brand of the Indian telecom sector. In just four years the newest member of the sector has left the veterans behind. It is attracting investments from Google and Facebook which hikes up their worth. Lakhs of people are seen to be flocking to the Jio network from other brands like Vi and Airtel.
General Atlantic:
General Atlantic which is also known as “GA” is an American firm with its headquarters in New York. They are an American growth equity firm that provides capital and strategic support for global growth companies. The firm was founded in 1980 and acted as the captive investment team for Atlantic Philanthropies, a philanthropic organization founded by Charles F. Feeney, the billionaire co-founder of Duty-Free Shoppers Ltd.
As of June 30, 2020 assets of General Atlantic were calculated to be approximately $ 38.3 billion. The firm focuses on investment in four sectors, Consumer, Financial Services, Healthcare, and Technology.
About the investment in RRVL:
This is the second investment of General Atlantic in the Reliance industry’s subsidiaries. Previously they had invested ₹ 6,598.38 crores in Jio Platforms which was announced earlier this year.
Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, said, “I am pleased to extend our relationship with General Atlantic as 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. We look forward to leveraging General Atlantic’s extensive expertise at the intersection of technology and consumer businesses, and two decades of experience investing in India, as we create a disruptive New Commerce platform to redefine retail in the country.”
Chief Executive Officer of General Atlantic, Bill Ford commented, “General Atlantic is thrilled to be backing Mukesh’s New Commerce mission to drive substantial positive change in the country’s retail sector, which goes hand-in-hand with his vision to enable a Digital India through the work of Jio Platforms. General Atlantic shares, Reliance Industries’ foundational belief in the power of technology to foster transformative growth, and we are excited by the immense potential of the full Reliance ecosystem. We are honored to again be partnering with the Reliance team to meaningfully accelerate India’s position in the global digital economy.”