Reliance Jio Platforms Bags $253 Mn From Intel Capital

Intel Capital has committed to invest INR 1,894.50 Cr ($253 Mn) in Reliance Jio Platforms for 0.39% equity stake on a fully diluted basis. The investment has come at an equity value of INR 4.91 Lakh Cr and an enterprise value of INR 5.16 Lakh Cr.

Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisor to Reliance Industries and AZB & Partners, and Davis Polk & Wardwell acted as legal counsel. With this, the company has raised over INR 117,588.45 Cr ($15.65 Bn) for less than a quarter of its business across 11 deals with leading tech investors like Facebook, Silver Lake, General Atlantic, KKR, TPG Capital, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Mubadala Investment Company, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, L Catterton and Vista Equity Partner.

Commenting on the latest funding, Reliance Industries managing director and chairperson Mukesh Ambani said, “We are extremely delighted to deepen our ties with technology leaders that embody our vision of transforming India into a leading Digital Society in the world. Intel is a true industry leader, working towards creating world-changing technology and innovations. Intel Capital has an outstanding record of being a valuable partner for leading technology companies globally.”

Wendell Brooks, Intel Capital President, added that, “Jio Platforms’ focus on applying its impressive engineering capabilities to bring the power of low-cost digital services to India aligns with Intel’s purpose of delivering breakthrough technology that enriches lives.”

The latest investment comes exactly two weeks after Reliance Industries had declared itself to be net debt free, catapulting Mukesh Ambani as the ninth richest man in the world with a net worth of $64.5 Bn. The company had managed to raise over INR 168,818 Cr ($22.5 Bn) in just 58 days. Now, the INR 1.15 Lakh Cr ($15.38 Bn) came from the 10 deals Reliance Jio had raised from 10 investments, while the rest INR 53,124 Cr ($7.10 Bn) came from rights issues.

Besides this, Reliance Industries has also sold 49% shares to Bharat Petroleum in an Indian fuels and mobility joint venture branded as Jio-BP. Adding this, Reliance Industries has raised more than INR 1.75 Lakh Cr ($23.4 Bn) in the last seven months.

Overall, Reliance Jio has raised more funding than the entire Startup ecosystem did in 2019. According to DataLabs by Inc42+ estimates, Indian startups raised $12.7 Bn across 766 deals, noting a 15% increase in funding amount from 2018. The total funding poured into Indian startups since 2014 stood at $58 Bn whereas the total count of funding deals crossed the 5K mark with 5,011 investments.