In its third mega-deal within a span of three weeks, Jio Platforms, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries (RIL), has raised Rs 11,367 crore in lieu of a 2.32 per cent stake from private equity firm Vista Equity Partners.
With this, Jio Platforms has now raised a total of Rs 60,596.37 crore from leading technology investors in less than three weeks by paring a total of 13.46 per cent stake.
The deal 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.
Vista, which has more than 57 billion in capital commitments and 20 years of investments in enterprise software and technology companies, is the world’s largest exclusively tech-focused private equity fund.
Morgan Stanley was the financial advisor to RIL, and AZB & Partners and Davis Polk & Wardwell were the legal counsels. Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co were the legal counsels to Vista.
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“I am delighted to welcome Vista, one of the world’s marquee tech investors globally as a valued partner. Like our other partners, Vista also shares with us the same vision of continuing to grow and transform the Indian digital ecosystem for the benefit of all Indians,” RIL Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani said.
The transaction is subject to regulatory and other customary approvals.
“We believe in the potential of the Digital Society that Jio is building for India. Mukesh’s vision as a global pioneer, alongside Jio’s world-class leadership team, have built a platform to scale and advance the data revolution it started. We are thrilled to join Jio Platforms to deliver exponential growth in connectivity across India, providing modern consumer, small business and enterprise software to fuel the future of one of the world’s fastest-growing digital economies,” Robert F. Smith, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Vista, said.
Vista will become the largest investor in Jio Platforms after RIL and Facebook. On April 22, Facebook had entered into an agreement to invest $5.7 billion in Jio Platforms for a 9.99 per cent stake, followed by global private equity firm Silver Lake agreeing to invest Rs 5,655.75 crore in Jio Platforms for a 1.15 per cent stake on May 4.
With the latest deal, Jio Platforms is set to net a combined Rs 60,596 crore, which comprises mainly its telecom business under Reliance Jio Infocomm, which is the largest in the country with over 388 million subscribers.
Reliance’s other digital properties and investments such as Jio Cinema, Jio Saavn and Haaptik are housed under Jio Platforms.
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