General Atlantic Pours More Cash Into Reliance Industries

General Atlantic, a New York-based global growth equity firm, announced it will invest 3,675 crore into RRVL, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries in Mumbai, India. 

General Atlantic’s investment represents a 0.84 percent equity stake in RRVL on a fully diluted basis, the company said. The Sept. 30 announcement follows General Atlantic’s 6,598 crore investment in Jio Platforms, a Reliance subsidiary that operates India’s largest mobile network.

In May, General Atlantic closed an $870 million deal for a 1.3 percent stake in Reliance Jio, the digital subsidiary of Reliance Industries. That deal put Jio’s valuation at $65 billion, according to the Financial Times.

“General Atlantic shares Reliance Industries’ foundational belief in the power of technology to foster transformative growth, and we are excited by the immense potential of the full Reliance ecosystem,” said William Ford, General Atlantic’s CEO, in a statement. “We are honored to again be partnering with the Reliance team to meaningfully accelerate India’s position in the global digital economy.”

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals.

General Atlantic said it has gained a reputation for backing startups including Airbnb, Alibaba, Ant Financial, ByteDance, Facebook, Slack, Snapchat, Uber Technologies Inc. and other tech firms.

“We look forward to leveraging General Atlantic’s extensive expertise at the intersection of technology and consumer businesses, and two decades of experience investing in India, as we create a disruptive new commerce platform to redefine retail in the country,” said Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, in a statement. 

Last week, Reliance asked suppliers to produce up to 200 million low-cost versions of its Jio smartphones over the next two years, Bloomberg News reported. The news service said the company would offer the phones to customers for as low as about $54 if they sign up for Reliance Jio phone service.

“We are, of course, trying to build our domestic companies. We have a sweet spot in entry-level phones,” Pankaj Mohindroo, chairman of the India Cellular & Electronic Association, a trade group, told Bloomberg.

Also this month, Reliance offered to sell a $20 billion stake in its retail division to Amazon. Bloomberg News reported that Ambani is willing to sell up to a 40 percent stake to the world’s largest retailer. The news service reported that Amazon has held talks about investing in its unit and wants to negotiate a potential transaction.