Global technology investment company Silver Lake has decided to take a position Rs 7,500 crore ($ 1 billion) in Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL), the retail arm of Reliance Industries Ltd, valuing RRVL at a pre-money equity value of Rs 4.21 lakh crore. Silver Lake’s investment will translate into a 1.75 per cent equity stake in RRVL on a totally diluted basis.
This is the 2nd billion dollar investment by Silver Lake during a Reliance Industries subordinate after the $1.35 billion investment in Jio Platforms declared before this year. Reliance Retail Ltd, a subsidiary of RRVL, operates India’s largest retail business serving on the brink of 640 million footfalls across its 12,000 stores nationwide.
Mukesh Ambani, chairman and director , Reliance Industries, said, “We believe technology are going to be key to bringing much-needed transformation during this sector in order that various constituents of the retail ecosystem can collaborate to create inclusive growth platforms. Silver Lake are going to be a useful partner in implementing our vision for Indian retail.” “Reliance Retail, through its new commerce strategy, has started a transformational digitalization of small and unorganised merchants and is committed to enlarging the network to over 20 million of those merchants, helping them enjoy the utilization of technology tools and systematic supply chain infrastructure to deliver a superior value proposition to their own customers,” RIL said during a statement.
The transaction is subject to regulatory and other customary approvals.
RRVL reported a consolidated turnover of Rs 1,62,936 crore ($21.7 billion) and net income of Rs 5,448 crore ($726.4 million) for the year ended March 31, 2020.
