Global investment firm KKR & Co. will invest ₹5,550 crore into Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL) for a 1.28% equity stake. RRVL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd.
The investment values Reliance Retail at an equity value of ₹4.21 lakh crore, said RIL in a press statement.
On 9 September, California-based private equity fund Silver Lake, picked up 1.75% stake in RRVL for ₹7,500 crore. This also marks the second investment by KKR in a subsidiary of RIL following a ₹11,367 crore investment in Jio Platforms announced earlier this year.
Mint had on 10 September reported that Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd, is in talks with KKR & Co., to raise over ₹5000 crore.
Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, said, “KKR has a proven track record of being a valuable partner to industry-leading franchises and has been committed to India for many years. We look forward to working with KKR’s global platform, industry knowledge and operational expertise across our digital services and retail businesses.”
Reliance Retail Limited, a subsidiary of RRVL, operates India’s largest, fastest-growing and most profitable retail business serving close to 640 million footfalls across its 12,000 stores nationwide.
Reliance Retail, through its New Commerce strategy, has started a transformational digitalization of small and unorganized merchants to expand its network to over 20 million of these merchants. This will enable the merchants to
use technology tools and an efficient supply chain infrastructure to deliver a superior value proposition to their own customers.
Henry Kravis, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of KKR, said, “Reliance Retail’s new commerce platform is filling an important need for both consumers and small businesses as more Indian consumers move to shopping online and the company offers tools for Kiranas to be a critical part of the value chain. We are thrilled to support Reliance Retail in its mission to become India’s leading omnichannel retailer and ultimately to build a more inclusive Indian retail economy.”
KKR is making its investment from its Asia private equity funds. The transaction is subject to regulatory and other customary approvals.
Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisor to Reliance Retail and Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and Davis Polk & Wardwell acted as legal counsels. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP acted as financial advisor to KKR. Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP acted as legal counsel to KKR.
