Mubadala Makes Second Major Investment In Reliance Industries

Mubadala Investment Co. has put more cash into Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd, a division of Reliance Industries Ltd. in India.

Reliance Industries, the global conglomerate whose businesses include retail, energy, textiles, natural resources and telecommunications, announced on Thursday (Oct. 1) that the Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates-based global investment company will invest 6,247.5 crore in Reliance Retail. Mubadala’s investment equals a 1.40 percent equity stake in the company.

Reliance Retail operates what it calls India’s fastest-growing and most profitable retail business, which serves nearly 640 million shoppers across its 12,000 stores in India. The company said it helps more than 20 million small, independent businesses embrace digitization, providing them with technology tools and efficient supply chain infrastructure that delivers value to their customers.

This is the second major investment by Mubadala in the Reliance subsidiary; it previously invested $1.2 billion in Jio Platforms Ltd., a subsidiary of Reliance that owns India’s largest mobile network.

“We value the partnership with a knowledge-rich organization like Mubadala and acknowledge their confidence in our mission to strengthen the core of India’s retail sector through the power of technology,” said Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, in a statement. “Mubadala’s investment and guidance will be an invaluable support in this journey.”

On Wednesday (Sept. 30), General Atlantic, a New York-based global growth equity firm, announced that it will invest 3,675 crore into Reliance Industries Limited and Reliance Retail Ventures Limited. General Atlantic’s investment represents a 0.84 percent equity stake in RRVL on a fully diluted basis, the company said. That announcement follows General Atlantic’s 6,598 crore investment in Jio Platforms, a Reliance subsidiary that operates India’s largest mobile network.

Also this month, Reliance offered to sell a $20 billion stake in its retail division to Amazon. Bloomberg News reported that Ambani is willing to sell up to 40 percent of the business to the world’s largest retailer. The news service reported that Amazon has held talks about investing in its unit and wants to negotiate a potential transaction.

Last week, Reliance asked suppliers to produce up to 200 million low-cost versions of its Jio smartphones over the next two years, Bloomberg News reported. The news service said the company would offer the phones to customers for as low as about $54 if they sign up for Reliance Jio’s  phone service.