KKR To Invest Rs 11,367 Crore In Jio Platforms - [KKR's largest investment in Asia]

KKR To Invest Rs 11,367 Crore In Jio Platforms - [KKR's largest investment in Asia]

Reliance Industries on Friday declared the purchase price of a 2.32 percent stake in its own electronic unit to US private equity giant KKR for Rs 11,367 crore, the fifth agreement in four months which will inject a joint Rs 78,562 crore from the oil-to-telecom conglomerate to allow it to pare debt.

"This trade values Jio Platforms in an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore. That is KKR's biggest investment in Asia and will translate into a 2.32 percent equity stake at Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis," the firm said in a statement.

The deal follows Facebook picking a 9.99 percent stake in the company, home India's youngest but biggest telecom firm, on April 22 for Rs 43,574 crore.

Within days of the bargain, Silver Lake - the world's biggest tech investor - purchased a 1.15 percent stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 5,665.75 crore.

On May 8, US-based Vista Equity Partners purchased a 2.32 percent stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 11,367 crore. On May 17 international equity firm General Atlantic picked up 1.34 percent stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 6,598.38 crore.

"Over the past month, leading technology investors, including, Facebook, Silver Lake, Vista, General Atlantic and KKR have declared aggregate investments of Rs 78,562 come to Jio Platforms," it stated.

Diverse marquee investors are getting to be long-term partners of Jio Platforms Ltd (JPL) due to a special set of platforms and technologies under a single thing. There are no similar opportunities available anyplace else internationally. And also an endorsement of the quality of the management.

Investments by major worldwide growth investors will empower Jio to scale its own ecosystem and reaffirm the company as a next-generation software product and platform firm.

"Jio Platforms, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries, is a next-generation technology platform dedicated to supplying high quality and affordable digital providers across India, with over 388 million readers," the announcement said.

Founded in 1976, KKR has a very long record of building leading international enterprises and successfully investment in companies in the tech industry, such as BMC Software, ByteDance and GoJek, by its private equity and engineering development capital.

Since inception, the company has spent over USD 30 billion (total enterprise value) in technology businesses, and its own technology portfolio currently has over 20 companies throughout the technology, telecom and media businesses.

Additionally, India has been a key strategic market for KKR using a history of investment in the nation because 2006.

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, stated,"I'm thrilled to welcome KKR, among the planet's most respected financial shareholders, as a respected partner in our forward march to developing and changing the Indian electronic ecosystem for the sake of Indians."

KKR, he stated, has an established history of being a valuable partner to industry-leading franchises and continues to be dedicated to India for several decades.

"We're excited about leveraging KKR's international system, business knowledge and operational experience to grow Jio."

Henry Kravis, Co-Founder, and Co-CEO of KKR said,"Few firms have the potential to change a nation's digital ecosystem at the manner that Jio Platforms is performing in India and potentially globally. Jio Platforms is a real homegrown next-generation technology pioneer in India which is unmatched in its ability to deliver engineering services and solutions to a nation that's undergoing an electronic revolution."

"We're investing behind Jio Platforms" impressive momentum, world-class invention and strong leadership group, and we see this landmark investment as a powerful indicator of KKR's dedication to encouraging top tech firms in India and the Asia Pacific," he explained.

KKR is currently making the investment out of its Asia private equity and expansion technologies funds.

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP acted as financial adviser to KKR.