What’s the deal all about?
RIL on Wednesday announced the investment by the world’s largest technology investor Silver Lake to the tune of ₹ 7,500 crore. The pre-money equity value of RRVL is estimated at ₹ 4.21 lakh crore. Silver Lake’s investment will translate into a 1.75% equity stake in RRVL on a fully diluted basis.
The investment from Silver Lake will be the second billion-dollar investment in a Reliance Industries subsidiary after the $1.35 billion investment in Jio Platforms announced earlier this year. With the latest investment, Jio Platforms and Reliance Retail account for over Rs 9 lakh crore of RIL valuation.
How it is going to benefit Reliance Retail?
Reliance Retail Limited, a subsidiary of RRVL, is into the retail business with almost 640 million footfalls across its nearly 12,000 stores nationwide.
It is the fastest-growing company and trying to push a new commerce strategy focusing on digitalization of small and unorganised merchants. The retail venture aims to expand the network to over 2 crore of these merchants, helping them benefit from the use of technology tools and efficient supply chain infrastructure.
Silver Lake along with its co-investors has already invested Rs 10,202.55 crore in two rounds in RIL's Jio Platforms. With more than $60 billion in combined assets under management, Silver Lake is a global leader in large-scale technology investing.
Hence the investment is seen as a big investment push for the company that is competing against major e-commerce ventures in the retail sector including Amazon and Flipkart.
This deal is significant as RIL is expanding its retail business and lining up a posse of global investors to take on rivals such as Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart in the world’s second-most populous country.