Close on the heels of social media giant Facebook and private equity firm Silver Lake betting big on Indian telecom behemoth Jio Platforms, another private equity firm Vista Equity Partners will invest $ 1.5 billion (Rs. 11,367 crore) in it.
Jio Platforms has now raised $ 8 billion Rs 60,596.37 crore --- amounting to a total of 13.4% stake --- from leading technology investors in less than three weeks.
This investment by Vista values Jio Platforms at an equity value of Rs. 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs. 5.16 lakh crore. Vista’s investment will translate into a 2.32% equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis, making Vista the largest investor in Jio Platforms behind Reliance Industries and Facebook.
Reliance Jio Platforms, with its agressive approach in the market since 2016, has managed to win for itself a base of over 388 million subscribers. But the recent spate of investments suggests that the company is priming itself for making further inroads on multiple fronts.
Commenting on the transaction with Vista, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries Ltd, said, “Vista also shares with us the same vision of continuing to grow and transform the Indian digital ecosystem for the benefit of all Indians. We are excited to leverage the professional expertise and multi-level support that Vista has been offering to its investments globally for the benefit of Jio.”
Jio is setting a scorching pace
Vista is a leading global investment firm focused on enterprise software, data and technology enabled companies. Vista has more than $57 billion in cumulative capital commitments and its global network of companies collectively represent the 5th largest enterprise software company in the world. Currently, Vista portfolio companies have a significant presence in India with over 13,000 employees.
Robert F Smith, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Vista, said, “We believe in the potential of the Digital Society that Jio is building for India. Jio’s world-class leadership team have built a platform to scale and advance the data revolution it started."
"We are thrilled to join Jio Platforms to deliver exponential growth in connectivity across India, providing modern consumer, small business and enterprise software to fuel the future of one of the world’s fastest growing digital economies," he added.
