US based private equity and global investment firm KKR announced that it will invest Rs 11,367 crore in Jio Platforms for a 2.32 percent stake. This is the fifth investment in the Reliance Jio Platforms, and that too, in rapid succession, following those by Facebook, multinational private equity firm Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, and General Atlantic over the past few weeks. This also means that Reliance Jio has raised a combined Rs 78,562 crore from leading investors and tech companies.
Founded in 1976, KKR has a long history of building leading global enterprises and successfully investing in businesses in the technology sector, including BMC Software, ByteDance and GoJek through its private equity and technology growth funds. Since inception, the firm has invested over $30 billion in tech companies, and today the firm’s technology portfolio has more than 20 companies across the Technology, Media and Telecom sectors.
In addition, India has been a key strategic market for KKR with a history of investing in the country since 2006. The PE firm has invested in Indian companies such as Max Financial Services, Bharti Infratel, Ramky Enviro Engineers and Coffee Day Resorts.
In 2019, KKR bought a majority stake in education franchise EuroKids Group from Gaja Capital.KKR, headquartered in New York, was founded in 1976 by Jerome Kohlberg Jr, Henry Kravis and George Roberts. Kravis and Roberts are cousins who worked at Bear Stearns before starting KKR.KKR raised its first $1 billion institutional fund in 1984, and eventually went on to expand its presence across Europe, the Middle East and the Asia Pacific region.
“I am delighted to welcome KKR, one of the world’s most respected financial investors, as a valued partner in our onward march to growing and transforming the Indian digital ecosystem for the benefit of all Indians. KKR shares our ambitious goal of building a premier Digital Society in India. KKR has a proven track record of being a valuable partner to industry-leading franchises and has been committed to India for many years. We are looking forward to leveraging KKR’s global platform, industry knowledge and operational expertise to further grow Jio.” said Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries.
Reliance Jio said this investment by KKR further reinforces the recognition of the world-class digital platform that Jio has built, powered by leading technologies, such as Broadband connectivity, Smart Devices, Cloud and Edge Computing, Big Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Augmented and Mixed Reality and Blockchain. This investment will give Jio Platforms a solid foundation to build on, towards what Reliance Jio says is a Digital India vision for 1.3 billion people and businesses across the country, including small businesses, micro-businesses and farmers.
“Few companies have the potential to transform a country’s digital ecosystem in the way that Jio Platforms is doing in India, and potentially worldwide. Jio Platforms is a true homegrown next-generation technology leader in India that is unmatched in its ability to deliver technology solutions and services to a country that is experiencing a digital revolution," said Henry Kravis, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of KKR. "We are investing behind Jio Platforms’ impressive momentum, world-class innovation and strong leadership team, and we view this landmark investment as a strong indicator of KKR’s commitment to supporting leading technology companies in India and the Asia Pacific," he added.
Disclaimer: News18.com is part of Network18 Media & Investment Limited which is owned by Reliance Industries Limited that also owns Reliance Jio.
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