Saudi sovereign fund invests Rs11,367 cr to pick 2.32 pc stake
MUMBAI: With the Rs11,367 crore investment from the Saudi sovereign fund, Public Investment Fund (PIF), one of world’s largest sovereign funds, on Friday (June 19), GCC alone has pumped Rs26,144 crore into the Reliance Industry’s digital arm, Jio Platforms, to claim 5.33 per cent of the ownership.
The other investors from GCC are Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), both Abu Dhabi government controlled funds that have got hundreds of billions dollar investments the world over.
Reliance Industries Ltd has thus raised over Rs168,818 crore in just 58 days through investments by global tech investors to the tune of Rs115,693.95 crore and Rs53,124.20 crore through the rights issue from RIL that concluded recently.
An RIL release said the combined capital raised has no precedence globally in such a short time. Both of these are also unprecedented in Indian corporate history and have set new benchmarks.
This is even more remarkable as this was achieved amidst a global lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Combined with the stake sale to BP in the petro-retail JV, the total fund raised by RIL is in excess of Rs1.75 lakh crore now.
“Our net-debt was Rs1,61,035 crore, as on March 31, 2020. With these investments, RIL has become net-debt-free. The investors in Jio Platforms include global investors such as Facebook, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, KKR, Mubadala, ADIA, TPG, L Catterton and PIF since April 22, 2020,” an official release said.
PIF’s investment marks the end of Jio Platforms’ current phase of induction of financial partners. Mukesh Ambani said he is both delighted and humbled to announce that RIL has fulfilled its promise to the shareholders by making Reliance net debt-free much before the original schedule of March 31, 2021.
“Exceeding the expectations of our shareholders and all other stakeholders, again and yet again, is in the very DNA of Reliance. Therefore, on the proud occasion of becoming a net debt-free company, I wish to assure them that Reliance in its Golden Decade will set even more ambitious growth goals, and achieve them, in fulfilment of the vision of our Founder, Dhirubhai Ambani, to consistently increase our contribution to India’s prosperity and inclusive development,” Ambani further said.
