Reliance Retail to get ₹ 7,350 cr investment from Singapore wealth fund GIC, TPG

Reliance Industries said on Saturday (October 3) that Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC and global private equity firm TPG Capital invested a combined ₹ 7,350 crore in its retail unit, Reuters reported.

Reliance, controlled by Mukesh Ambani, has secured more than $2 billion (roughly ₹ 14,600 crore) in investments from global investors, including KKR, Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala and Silver Lake Partners, in Reliance Retail Ventures over the past few months.

GIC will invest ₹5,512 crore for a 1.22 per cent stake, while TPG Capital Management will invest ₹ 1,838 crore to own a 0.41 per cent equity stake in the retail arm, the company said.

The investments in Reliance Retail values the company at a pre-money equity value of ₹ 4,285 lakh crore, Reliance said.

This is TPG Capital’s second investment in Reliance. In June, the company invested $598 million (roughly ₹ 4,384 crore) in Reliance’s digital unit Jio Platforms.

Mumbai-headquartered Reliance has approached investors in Jio Platforms about buying stakes in its retail arm, Reuters had reported in September.

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Reliance, already India’s biggest retailer with roughly 12,000 stores, forged a $3.38 billion (roughly ₹ 24,783 crore) deal in August to acquire rival Future Group’s retail business.

The conglomerate is also expanding its so-called new commerce venture, which ties neighborhood stores to Reliance for online deliveries of groceries, apparel and electronics in a space currently dominated by Walmart’s Flipkart and Amazon’s Indian arm.

Ambani has identified technology and retail as future growth areas in a pivot away from the energy businesses. The 63-year-old Indian tycoon’s ambitions include creating a home-grown e-commerce giant like China’s Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.