Google International LLC has picked up 7.7% stake in Jio Platforms Limited, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) for Rs. 33,737 crores today, i.e., Wednesday, July 15, 2020.
The move comes after Google announced to invest U.S. $ 10 billion in India during its 6th annual edition of “Google for India” event on July 13, 2020.
This makes Jio Platform one of the companies which has 2 of the FANG investors. The term FANG refers to the stocks of 4 popular American technology companies: Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google. Facebook has an investment of Rs. 43,574 crores for a stake of 9.9% in Jio Platforms.
The announcement was made by the Chairman & Managing Director of RIL – Mukesh Ambani during the 43rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) of RIL today.
Speaking on the occasion, Mukesh Ambani said, “We welcome Google onboard and are excited about our partnership for what it can deliver to Indians, from universalising Internet usage to deepening the new digital economy and providing a prime mover to India’s economic growth.”
Mukesh D. Ambani welcomes new and esteemed partners in Jio. @google @googleindia#RILAGM #NayeIndiaKaNayaJosh #JioPlatforms #Reliance pic.twitter.com/eODnAOPt3d
— Reliance Jio (@reliancejio) July 15, 2020
A statement from RIL read, “Jio Platforms Limited, a subsidiary of the Company, today signed binding agreements with Google International LLC pursuant to which Google would invest Rs 33,737 crore for a 7.73% equity stake in Jio Platforms.”
Taking it to twitter, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Google – Sundar Pichai tweeted, “Everyone should have access to the internet. Proud to partner with @reliancejio to increase access for the hundreds of millions in India who don’t own a smartphone with our 1st investment of $4.5B from the #GoogleForIndia Digitization Fund.”
Everyone should have access to the internet. Proud to partner with @reliancejio to increase access for the hundreds of millions in India who don’t own a smartphone with our 1st investment of $4.5B from the #GoogleForIndia Digitization Fund. https://t.co/PbCJgbFSwR
— Sunder Pichai (@SunderPichai1) July 15, 2020
The Google deal is subject to regulatory approvals. Google and Jio have entered a commercial agreement to jointly develop an entry level 5G enabled affordable smartphone with optimizations to the Android Operating System and the Play Store. This deal will unlock new opportunities, further power the vibrant ecosystem of applications and push innovation to drive growth for the new Indian economy.
Post this investment, the total investment from financial and strategic investors into Jio Platforms stands at Rs. 1,52,056 crores for a combined 32.97% stake in about 2 months. Besides, Jio also has 11 other investors in the company which include Qualcomm Ventures, Intel Capital, Abu Dhabi’s two largest sovereign investment arms – Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Mubadala, Private Equity Arms Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, KKR, TPG, L Catterton and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).
