KKR to invest Rs 11,367 cr into Jio platforms
May 22, 2020
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 22 : KKR, the global investment firm based in New York, will invest Rs 11,367 crore into Jio platforms, which is the largest investment in Asia, said the Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) on Friday.
"Reliance Industries Limited and Jio Platforms Limited announced today that KKR will invest Rs 11,367 crore into Jio Platforms. 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," RIL said in a statement.
This investment will translate into a 2.32 per cent equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis. Moreover, the KKR is making the investment from its Asia private equity and growth technology funds and the transaction is subject to regulatory and other customary approvals.
It is to be mentioned that 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 Jio Platforms.
While Jio Platforms is a next-generation technology platform focused on providing high-quality and affordable digital services across India, the KKR, with more than 388 million subscribers, has a long history of building leading global enterprises and successfully investing in businesses in the technology sector, including BMC Software, ByteDance and GoJek through its private equity and technology growth funds.
Since its inception, the KKR has invested over USD 30 billion in tech companies. Today, the firm's technology portfolio has more than 20 companies across the technology, media and telecom sectors.
Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, said, "I am delighted to welcome KKR, one of the world's most respected financial investors, as a valued partner in our onward march to growing and transforming the Indian digital ecosystem for the benefit of all Indians. 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," he said.
Henry Kravis, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of KKR, said, "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. We are investing behind Jio Platforms' impressive momentum, world-class innovation and strong leadership team. We view this landmark investment as a strong indicator of KKR's commitment to supporting leading technology companies in India and the Asia Pacific."
