Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has announced a third investor is set to purchase an equity stake in its digital services unit Jio Platforms, which wholly owns Reliance’s telecom division Reliance Jio Infocomm (Jio). The new investor, Vista Equity Partners – a private equity firm that focuses on software and technology – will invest INR113.67 billion (USD1.52 billion) for an equity stake of 2.32%. The deal follows on the heels of similar partnerships with Facebook and Silver Lake, with RIL noting it has raised a combined total of INR605.96 billion from technology investors in less than three weeks. Facebook’s investment (INR435.74 billion) secured it a 9.99% stake, whilst Silver Lake took a roughly 1.15% stake for INR56.56 billion. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals.
Commenting on the deal, Vista CEO Robert Smith was quoted as saying: ‘We are thrilled to join Jio Platforms to deliver exponential growth in connectivity across India, providing modern consumer, small business and enterprise software to fuel the future of one of the world’s fastest growing digital economies.’