Jio slices off more equity for third investor in three weeks
Indian telco Reliance Jio has sold another small piece of itself to private equity, this time parting with a 2.32% stake for ₹11,367 crore from Vista Equity Partners.
This follows up private equity firm Silver Lake putting ₹5,655.75 crore into Jio Platforms last week, and Facebook ploughing ₹43,574 crore into the telco last month for a stake just shy of 10%.
The social network said the reason for its investment was to boost India's digital economy, especially its 60 million small businesses.
"For instance, by bringing together JioMart, Jio's small business initiative, with the power of WhatsApp, we can enable people to connect with businesses, shop and ultimately purchase products in a seamless mobile experience," the company said in a blog post.
"Our efforts with Jio will be focused on opening new doors and fueling India's economic growth and the prosperity of its people."
Altogether, the telco has received ₹60,596 crore in three weeks.
The latest funding has pinned the telco with an enterprise value of ₹5.16 lakh crore, slightly up on its valuation from last week.
Jio said Vista has $57 billion in cumulative capital committed and has spent 20 years investing "exclusively in enterprise software".
In its yearly financial results announced last month, Jio saw its standalone net profit increase 88% to ₹5,562 crore for the full year ended March 31.
The company said it now has 387.5 million subscribers, an increase of 26% year on year, with monthly average revenue per user of ₹130.6, or $1.73.
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