Silver Lake to Invest $1.02 Billion in Reliance Retail Ventures

The private-equity firm was also among a host of investors that invested in Reliance telecoms unit Jio Platforms.

Reliance Industries Limited and Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL) on Wednesday announced that American private equity giant Silver Lake will invest $1.02 Billion into RRVL, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries.

The investment by Silver Lake values RRVL at a pre-money equity value of Rs 4.21 trillion and with this its investment will translate into a 1.75 per cent equity stake in RRVL on a fully diluted basis. Notably, this is the second billion-dollar investment by Silver Lake in a Reliance Industries subsidiary after the USD 1.35 billion investment in Jio Platforms announced earlier this year.

Commenting on the investment by Silver Lake, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries, said, "I am delighted to extend our relationship with Silver Lake to our transformational efforts of building an inclusive partnership with millions of small merchants while providing value to Indian consumers across the country in the Indian retail sector."

"We believe technology will be key to bringing the much-needed transformation in this sector so that various constituents of the retail ecosystem can collaborate to build inclusive growth platforms. Silver Lake will be an invaluable partner in implementing our vision for Indian Retail," he added.

Moreover, commenting on the investment, Egon Durban, Co-CEO and Managing Partner of Silver Lake, said, "Mukesh Ambani and his team at Reliance have created an outstanding world leader in retail and technology through their courageous vision, commitment to societal benefits, innovation excellence and relentless execution. The success of JioMart in such a short time span, especially while India, along with the rest of the world, battles the COVID-19 pandemic, is truly unprecedented, and the most exciting growth phase has just begun."

"Reliance′s New Commerce strategy could become the disruptor of this decade. We are thrilled to have been invited to partner with Reliance in their mission for Indian Retail," Durban added.