Abu Dhabi's Mubadala to invest US$1.2b in Reliance's Jio Platforms

[BENGALURU] Indian oil-to-telecoms conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd said on Friday that Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala Investment Co will buy a 1.85 per cent stake in its digital unit, Jio Platforms, for 90.93 billion rupees (S$1.68 billion).

Reliance has now sold a combined 19 per cent interest in Jio Platforms, which houses movie, music apps and telecoms venture Jio Infocomm, in six fundraising deals including a 9.99 per cent stake sale to Facebook Inc for US$5.7 billion.

The interest in Jio Platforms highlights its potential to become the dominant player in India's digital economy. The telecoms unit has already decimated several rivals with cut-throat pricing and is counting on Reliance's retail network to expand into e-commerce.

The Jio Platforms investment is the largest in an Indian firm by Mubadala, which is the second-biggest state investor in Abu Dhabi after Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, managing about US$240 billion in assets.

The other recent investors in Jio Platforms are private-equity firms General Atlantic, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, and KKR & Co Inc.

Morgan Stanley served as a financial adviser to Reliance Industries, the company said in a statement.

REUTERS