Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund to pick up 1% stake in Reliance Retail for $1 bn

NEW DELHI: Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund is in talks to buy a stake in the retail arm of Mukesh Ambani led-Reliance Industries for $1 billion (Rs 8,199 crore).

The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) would acquire around 1 per cent stake in Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL), valuing the business at around $100 billion, industry sources said.

The move would help RRVL, which is the holding company of the retail empire of Reliance Industries, to expedite its expansion further. When contacted, a Reliance Retail spokesperson said:” The company evaluates various opportunities on an ongoing basis. As a principle, we do not comment on market speculations and rumours.”

Earlier this month, a news report said two global consultants appointed by the company had valued RRVL between $92-96 billion.

RRVL is aggressively expanding its business here by acquiring the companies and getting the franchise rights of leading international brands for the Indian market.

Earlier this month, Reliance Retail had said it was reducing the equity share capital to the extent held by shareholders other than its promoter and holding company.

Its board had on July 4, 2023, approved a proposal in which shares held by such shareholders shall stand cancelled and extinguished as per the capital reduction plan.

In 2020, RRVL had raised Rs 47,265 crore (around $6.4 billion) from global private equity funds for a 10.09 per cent stake, valuing the company at more than Rs 4.2 lakh crore. This was the largest fundraising exercise in the sector at that time.

The company had raised funds from Silver Lake, KKR, Mubadala, Abu Dhabi Investment

ity, GIC, TPG, General Atlantic and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund at a valuation of around $57 billion at that time.

Meanwhile, Jio Financial Services Limited (JFS) and BlackRock on Wednesday announced an agreement to form Jio BlackRock, a 50:50 joint venture that combines the respective strengths and trusted brands of BlackRock and JFS to deliver tech-enabled access to affordable, innovative investment solutions for millions of investors in India.

Jio BlackRock brings BlackRock’s deep expertise and talent in investment management, risk management, product excellence, access to technology, operations, scale, and intellectual capital around markets, while JFS contributes local market knowledge, digital infra capabilities and robust execution capabilities.

Together, the partnership will introduce a new player to the India market with a unique combination of scope, scale, and resources. JFS and BlackRock are targeting initial investment of $150 million each in the joint venture.

The joint venture will launch operations post receipt of regulatory and statutory approvals. The company will have its own management team, as per a release.