RIL looks to sell 15% in retail business to PEs, SWFs for Rs 63,000 cr

New Delhi: Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is looking to raise ₹60,000-63,000 crore by selling a 15% stake in Reliance Retail Ventures, the holding company of its retail businesses, to a clutch of private equity investors and sovereign wealth funds.A person familiar with the development said fresh shares will be issued to the investors and the company expects to complete the fundraise by October end.He said while the company would also like to induct a strategic investor, there were no active discussions on this front. Amazon and Walmart have been mentioned as potential suitors but no talks had been held with them, the person said.While private equity fund Silver Lake is the first to come on board, other investors in Jio Platforms — Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Investment Company, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), L Catterton and KKR — are likely to pick up stakes in the retail venture as well. 78029964“The company has offered stakes to all the investors of Jio Platforms,” said the person. Intel Capital and Qualcomm have declined to participate while Facebook and Google have said they will revert.A Reliance spokesperson declined to comment.Future Acquisition“As a policy, we do not comment on media speculation and rumours. Our company evaluates various opportunities on an ongoing basis," the spokesperson said in an emailed response. "We have made and will continue to make necessary disclosures in compliance with our obligations under Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations 2015 and our agreements with the stock exchanges."An Amazon spokesperson said the company did not comment on speculation on what it may or may not do in the future. A Walmart spokesperson said the company was not in discussions with Reliance. ADIA and L Catterton declined to comment while PIF, Mubadala and KKR did not respond till press time.On Wednesday, Silver Lake picked up 1.75% in Reliance Retail Ventures for ₹7,500 crore, valuing the company at ₹4.21 lakh crore.Last month, Reliance acquired the retail business of Future Group, consolidating its leadership position in India’s retail sector. The acquisition gives Reliance Retail sway over a network of nearly 1,800 stores and brings in ₹26,000 crore in additional sales to create a ₹1.89 lakh crore ($26 billion) retail empire spanning about 14,000 brick-and-mortar stores, making it seven times bigger in terms of revenues than its nearest rival Avenue Supermarts that runs D'Mart.In May, Reliance Retail rolled out its JioMart ecommerce venture selling food and grocery items in 200 cities. JioMart is part of Reliance’s ambitious "new commerce" strategy that not only seeks to marry RIL’s vast network of physical stores with JioMart but also enrol millions of kirana shops as their last-mile delivery partners.

from Economic Times https://bit.ly/3jViUpc
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