General Atlantic to invest Rs3,675 cr in Reliance Retail Ventures

General Atlantic’s investment values Reliance Retail at an equity value of Rs4.285 lakh crore. 

This marks the second investment by General Atlantic in a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, following a Rs6,598.38 crore investment in Jio Platforms announced earlier this year.

Reliance Retail Limited, a subsidiary of RRVL, operates India's largest, fastest growing and most profitable retail business serving close to 640 million footfalls across its ~12,000 stores nationwide.

Reliance Retail has set an inclusive growth strategy of galvanising the Indian retail sector by empowering millions of farmers and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and working closely with global and domestic companies as a preferred partner, to deliver benefits to society, while protecting and generating employment for millions of Indians.

Reliance Retail has started a transformational digitalisation of small and unorganised merchants to expand the network to over 20 million of these merchants. This will enable the merchants to use technology tools and an efficient supply chain infrastructure to deliver a superior value proposition to their own customers.

General Atlantic is a leading global growth equity firm with a 40-year track record of investing in the technology, consumer, financial services and healthcare sectors, an RIL release stated.

“I am pleased to extend our relationship with General Atlantic as we work towards empowering both merchants and consumers alike, and ultimately transforming Indian Retail. Like Reliance Retail, General Atlantic believes in the fundamental ability of digital enablement to drive progress, growth, and inclusion across India and the world. 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,” Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, said.

“General Atlantic is thrilled to be backing Mukesh’s New Commerce mission to drive substantial positive change in the country’s retail sector, which goes hand-in-hand with his vision to enable a Digital India through the work of Jio Platforms. 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. We are honored to again be partnering with the Reliance team to meaningfully accelerate India’s position in the global digital economy,” Bill Ford, chief executive officer of General Atlantic, said.

“We are delighted to welcome General Atlantic as a valued partner as we continue to develop and galvanise the Indian retail ecosystem for the benefit of all Indian consumers and merchants. General Atlantic has tremendous knowledge in the retail space developed by working with leading consumer and retail companies globally over the years and we hope to benefit from that as we progress on our journey,” Isha Ambani, director of Reliance Retail, said. 

“There is a pressing need for change in the Indian retail ecosystem. Reliance Retail’s strategy is unique – highly disruptive, and yet fully inclusive, it demonstrates a deep understanding of the diverse needs of India and Bharat, and the opportunity to provide more holistic omnichannel retail solutions to Kiranas and consumers,” added Sandeep Naik, managing director and head of India and Southeast Asia at General Atlantic.

The transaction is subject to regulatory and other customary approvals.

Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisor to Reliance Retail and Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and Davis Polk & Wardwell acted as legal counsels. Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP acted as legal counsel to General Atlantic.