Reliance Industries said its Reliance Industrial Investments & Holdings subsidiary has agreed to invest Rs 295.25 crore in Mumbai-based Fynd, in a deal that would see early backers Google, Venture Catalysts and Kae Capital exiting the retail-focused startup.
In a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange, RIL said its subsidiary has an option to further invest Rs 100 crore in Shopsense Retail Technologies, which runs Fynd, by December 2021. The total investment will translate into an 87.6% stake in Fynd, it said.
Fynd, which was founded in September 2012, acts as a bridge between physical retail stores and buyers online. While Google and the other early investors are exiting the firm, its founders have held onto their equity, said Harsh Shah, who founded the firm along with Farooq Adam and Sreeraman Mohan Girija.
RIL said the investment would further enable the group’s digital and new commerce initiatives. Reliance has been beefing up investments and acquisitions in the tech and Internet space as it prepares to launch services like e-commerce on the back of its huge reach through Reliance Jio Infocomm.
