Saudi fund buys 2.04% in Reliance Retail Ventures for Rs9,555 cr
11 Nov 2020
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), will invest Rs9,555 crore (approximately $1.3 billion) for an equity stake of 2.04 per cent in RRVL, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries.
The investment values RRVL at a pre-money equity value of Rs4.587 lakh crore (approximately $62.4 billion) Reliance Industries stated in a release.
This is the second investment by PIF in Reliance Group after its earlier acquisition of a 2.32 per cent stake in Jio Platforms, the digital services subsidiary of Reliance Industries.
"We at Reliance have a long-standing relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. PIF is at the forefront of the economic transformation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I welcome PIF as a valued partner in Reliance Retail and look forward to their sustained support and guidance as we continue our ambitious journey to transform India’s retail sector for enriching the lives of 1.3 billion Indians and millions of small merchants," Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, said.
"We are pleased to be furthering our trusted partnership with Reliance Industries, the leading player in some of India’s most exciting sectors. This transaction demonstrates PIF’s commitment to investing and partnering for the long-term with innovative businesses around the world that lead and transform their sectors,” Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of PIF, said.
“This investment further demonstrates PIF’s commitment to generating returns for the Saudi people and driving the economic diversification of Saudi Arabia,” he added.
Reliance Retail Limited, a subsidiary of RRVL, operates India's largest, fast-growing retail business serving close to 640 million footfalls at its ~12,000 stores across the country.
Reliance Retail Ventures Limited is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited, and holding company of all the retail companies under the RIL Group. RRVL reported a consolidated turnover of Rs162,936 crore ($ 21.7 billion) and net profit of Rs5,448 crore ($ 726.4 million) for the year ended 31 March 2020.
RRVL, through its subsidiary, is market leading in the Indian organised physical retail market and is revolutionising India’s entire retail sector by further integrating the Indian retail markets through its ‘New Commerce’ strategy
Reliance Retail topped the list of ‘50 fastest-growing retailers globally between FY2013-2018’ in the Deloitte's Global Powers of Retailing 2020 index. Reliance Retail secured the 56th spot this year against the 94th rank the previous year and is the only Indian company to be featured in this list.