General Atlantic to Invest INR 3,675 Cr in Reliance Retail for 0.84% Stake This marks third investment in RIL's retail arm from a global investor in less than a month, after Silver Lake announced an investment of INR 7,500 crore and KKR announced INR 5,550 crore funding
By Shipra Singh
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Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) announced on Wednesday that General Atlantic will invest INR 3,675 crore in Reliance Retail Ventures (RRVL), the retail arm of RIL. The equity firm will pick 0.84 per cent stake in RRVL on a fully diluted basis.
This fresh capital infusion will value Reliance's retail subsidiary at INR 4.285 lakh crore.
This is General Atlantic's second investment in a RIL subsidiary after INR 6,598.38 crore investments in Jio Platforms in May this year.
As for Reliance Retail, this marks third investment from a global investor in less than a month, after American global technology investment firm Silver Lake announced an investment of INR 7,500 crore and KKR announced INR 5,550 crore funding. With the latest deal, Reliance Retail has raised a total of INR 16,725 crore so far.
Also Read: Silver Lake Invests INR 7,500 Crore In Reliance Retail
RRVL operates the country's largest and most profitable retail business serving close to 640 million footfalls across its 12,000 stores nationwide through its subsidiary Reliance Retail Limited. It reported a consolidated turnover of INR 162,936 crore and net profit of INR 5,448 crore for financial year 2019-2020.
Also Read: KKR Invests INR 5,550 Crore In Reliance Retail
"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," said Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries.
"There is a pressing need for change in the Indian Retail ecosystem," said Sandeep Naik, Managing Director and Head of India & Southeast Asia at General Atlantic. "Reliance Retail's strategy is unique – highly disruptive, and yet fully inclusive, it demonstrates a deep understanding of the diverse needs of India and Bharat, and the opportunity to provide more holistic omnichannel retail solutions to Kiranas and consumers."
General Atlantic is known for its investment across technology, consumer, financial services and healthcare sectors. It has backed some of the prominent tech companies around the world, including Airbnb, Alibaba, Ant Financial, Box, ByteDance, Facebook, Slack, Snapchat and Uber, among others.
"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," said Bill Ford, CEO, General Atlantic. "We are honored to again be partnering with the Reliance team to meaningfully accelerate India's position in the global digital economy."
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