General Atlantic to invest Rs 3,675 crores in Reliance Retail Ventures

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], September 30 : : Reliance Industries Limited and Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL) on Wednesday announced that General Atlantic,a leading global growth equity investor, will invest Rs 3,675 crores into RRVL, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries.
This is the third strategic investment in the retail unit of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), within a month.
The investment by General Atlantic values RRVL at a pre-money equity value of Rs 4.285 lakh crores and with this its investment will translate into a 0.84 percent equity stake in RRVL on a fully diluted basis.
Commenting on the investment by General Atlantic, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, 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."
This investment values RRVL at a pre-money equity value of Rs 4.285 lakh crores, which is about Rs 7,000 crores higher than the valuation of Rs 4.21 lakh crore for the first two investments in RRVL that were announced earlier this month.
"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," he added.
Notably, this is the second investment by General Atlantic in a Reliance Industries subsidiary after the Rs 6,598.38 crore investment in Jio Platforms announced earlier this year.
Further commenting on the investment, Bill Ford, Chief Executive Officer of General Atlantic, said, "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 honoured to again be partnering with the Reliance team to meaningfully accelerate India's position in the global digital economy," he added.
Director, Reliance Retail, Isha Ambani also welcomed General Atlantic as a partner and the investment, stating that its knowledge and experience would be of great help and use in the effort to "develop and galvanize" in the Indian retail ecosystem.
"We are delighted to welcome General Atlantic as a valued partner as we continue to develop and galvanize the Indian Retail ecosystem for the benefit of all Indian consumers and merchants. General Atlantic has tremendous knowledge in the retail space developed by working with leading consumer and retail companies globally over the years and we hope to benefit from that as we progress on our journey," Isha Ambani said.
Sandeep Naik, Managing Director and Head of India and Southeast Asia at General Atlantic, further said, "There is a pressing need for change in the Indian retail ecosystem. 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."
RRVL is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited and holding company of all the retail companies under the RIL Group. RRVL reported a consolidated turnover of Rs 162,936 crore (USD 21.7 billion) and net profit of Rs 5,448 crore (USD 726.4 million) for the year ended March 31, 2020.
Reliance Retail topped the list of '50 fastest-growing retailers globally between FY2013-2018' in the Deloitte's Global Powers of Retailing 2020 index. It secured the 56th spot this year against the 94th rank the previous year and is the only Indian company to be featured in this list.