RIL's retail arm receives ₹5,550 cr from KKR for 1.28 pc stake sale

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Thursday said it has received ₹5,550 crore from global investment firm KKR, which has picked up 1.28 per cent stake in its retail arm.

Earlier, on September 23, RIL had announced that KKR will make the investment in its subsidiary Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL) to buy 1.28 per cent equity stake.

"Reliance Retail Ventures Limited, a subsidiary of the company, today received the subscription amount of ₹5,550 crore from Alyssum Asia Holdings II Pte. Ltd. (a unit of KKR) and allotted 81,348,479 equity shares to KKR," Reliance Industries said in a regulatory filing.

The investment valued Reliance Retail, which runs grocery stores and fashion chains, at a pre-money equity value of ₹4.21 lakh crore.

This was the second investment by KKR in Reliance Industries’ units. It had previously picked up a 2.32 per cent stake in the digital arm, Jio Platforms, for ₹11,367 crore.

Reliance Retail Limited, a subsidiary of RRVL, operates India's largest, fastest-growing and most profitable retail business spanning supermarkets, consumer electronics chain stores, cash and carry wholesale business, fast-fashion outlets, and online grocery store JioMart. It operates almost 12,000 stores in nearly 7,000 towns.

After monetising Jio Platforms -- which houses the firm's telecom arm and digital ventures, billionaire Mukesh Ambani is roping in investors in the retail business.

All the 13 investors, who had poured in a combined ₹1.52 lakh crore in Jio Platforms, have been offered a chance to explore investing in the retail unit.

Besides KKR, the other investors in Jio Platforms include Silver Lake, Facebook, Google, private equity groups Vista and General Atlantic and Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund Mubadala.