KKR to invest INR 5,500 cr. in Reliance Retail ventures

Mumbai, Sep. 23 (IANS): Reliance Industries Limited on Wednesday announced that global investment firm KKR will invest INR 5,550 crore into its subsidiary Reliance Retail Ventures Limited to pick up 1.28 per cent equity in the company.

This investment values Reliance Retail at a pre-money equity value of INR 4.21 lakh crore, a company statement said.

The deal marks the second investment by KKR in a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, following a INR 11,367 crore investment in Jio Platforms announced earlier this year.

KKR is making its investment from its Asia private equity funds. The transaction is subject to regulatory and other customary approvals.

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, said, “I am pleased to welcome KKR 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. 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 retail business of the company serving close to 640 million footfalls across its 12,000 stores nationwide.

Founded in 1976, KKR has $222 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2020. It established its first of eight Asia offices in 2005 and the firm currently has approximately $5.1 billion in private equity investments across more than 15 Indian companies, including Jio Platforms, JB Chemicals, Max Healthcare, Eurokids International and Ramky Enviro Engineers.

Henry Kravis, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of KKR, 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.”

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.