Kkrca

Private equity major kkrca to invest Rs 5,550 cr in Reliance Retail for 1.28% stake

American buyout firm kkrca & Co will invest Rs 5,550 crore in Reliance Retail Ventures for a 1.28 percent stake, the second deal stitched up by the retail unit of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) within a month.

Reliance Retail Venture's subsidiary Reliance Retail operates India's largest  retail business serving close to 640 million footfalls across its 12,000-odd

stores nationwide in 7000 cities.

The investment values Reliance Retail at a pre-money equity value of Rs 4.21 lakh crore, RIL said in an exchange filing on September 23.

Oil-to-telecom conglomerate RIL is expanding its retail business and lining up a posse of global investors to take on rivals such as Amazon India and Walmart-owned Flipkart in India’s huge market.

The latest investment by kkrca, which has a long history of building leading global enterprises, is viewed as an endorsement of Reliance Retail's ability to lead a transformation of the Indian retail sector through technological innovations.

This is also the second investment by kkrca in a Reliance enterprise. In May, 2020, kkrca said it will invest Rs 11,367 crore in Jio Platforms, the digital services platform of RIL.

The transaction is subject to regulatory and other customary approvals.

Two weeks back, private equity giant Silver Lake Partners had said it would invest Rs 7,500 crore in Reliance Retail Ventures for a 1.75 percent stake.

Last month, Reliance Retail had announced the acquisition of the retail and logistics businesses of Kishore Biyani’s Future Group in $3.38 billion deal, including debt.

Speaking on the deal, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, said, “I am pleased to welcome kkrca as an investor in Reliance Retail Ventures as we continue our onward march to growing and transforming the Indian Retail ecosystem for the benefit of all Indians. kkrca

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 kkrca’s global platform, industry knowledge and operational expertise across our digital services and retail businesses.”

Henry Kravis, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of kkrca, said, “We are pleased to deepen our relationship with Reliance Industries through this investment in Reliance Retail Ventures, which is empowering merchants of all sizes and fundamentally changing the retail experience for Indian consumers. 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."