Private equity firm KKR invests $754 mn in Reliance retail arm

New York headquartered private equity firm KKR, through its Asia fund, has invested $754.7 million (Rs 5,550 crore) in Reliance Retail Ventures (RRVL) for a 1.28% stake.

The investment was made at a pre-money valuation of $56 billion (Rs 4.21 trillion), according to a BSE filing.

The development comes two weeks after the RIL subsidiary raised $1.02 billion from private equity firm Silver Lake. Both KKR and Silver Lake have infused capital in RIL-owned Jio Platforms as well this year. 

“Reliance Retail’s new commerce platform is filling an important need for both consumers and small businesses as more Indian consumers move to shopping online and the company offers tools for kiranas to be a critical part of the value chain,” Henry Kravis, co-founder of KKR, said. 

“We are thrilled to support Reliance Retail in its mission to become India’s leading omnichannel retailer and ultimately to build a more inclusive Indian retail economy,” he said.

After Jio Platforms, RRVL has been at the centre of a flurry of investments as it looks to expand its business with the recent acquisition of Kishore Biyani-led Future Group for $3.38 billion. 

RRVL runs grocery brands Reliance Fresh, value supermarket chain Reliance Smart, online grocery business arm Jio Mart, physical retail businesses of Reliance Digital, Reliance Jewels, Reliance Trends, Reliance Footwear, Jio Stores, Project Eve and fashion ecommerce platform AJIO. The business has a presence across 12,000 offline stores.

RIL, in its annual general meeting in July, said that RRVL sought equity investments for expansion on the lines of Jio Platforms. The latter has raised $21 billion from multiple strategic and financial investors so far. 

According to multiple media reports, RIL plans to list RRVL and Jio Platforms on the stock exchange in the coming years.