Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio has been able to attract the third big investor - Vista Equity Partners - which is the world’s largest tech fund following its landmark deal with Facebook.
Reliance Industries Limited announced that Vista will invest $1.5 billion (Rs 11,367 crore ) in Jio platforms for a 2.32 percent equity stake on a fully diluted basis. The deal values Jio at Rs 4.9 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore which is 12.5 percent premium to what Facebook's investment valued the tech platforms. Reliance Jio has now been able to raise Rs 60,596.37 crore from leading technology investors in less than three weeks, inching towards its target of making RIL a debt-free company by 2021. As of 2020, RIL has a consolidated debt of Rs 2.88 lakh crore ( $46.2 billion).
RIL said that after Reliance and Facebook, Vista has become the third-largest investor in Jio platforms. The company had earlier announced that it plans to sell another 10% stake in Jio platforms after the Facebook deal. Analysts say that going by the RIL’s guidance it may be looking to divest another 6.54% after Vistara, Silver Lakes deals fetching the conglomerate anywhere around Rs 25,000-30000 crore.
Sanchit Vir Gogia, Chief Analyst and CEO, Greyhound research wrote in his note that the Vista Equity Partners deal will further push RIL’s ambitions for the digital ecosystem in India by leveraging the Vista’s software domain expertise to help build Jio apps, in immediate capital infusion as well as better leveraging Jio’s 388 million user base.
Vista Equity Partners is currently the 5th largest enterprise software company in the world and has $57 billion in cumulative capital assets across the globe.
"Like our other partners, Vista also shares with us the same vision of continuing to grow and transform the Indian digital ecosystem for the benefit of all Indians. They believe in the transformative power of technology to be the key to an even better future for everyone. In Robert and Brian, whose family hails from Gujarat, I found two outstanding global technology leaders who believe in India and the transformative potential of a Digital Indian Society. We are excited to leverage the professional expertise and multi-level support that Vista has been offering to its investments globally for the benefit of Jio,” Ambani said.