RIL Top Gainer on Sensex, Share Price Rises 3% After Investment by KKR in Reliance Retail

Reliance Industries (RIL) share price gained 3 per cent in early trade on September 23 after the announcement that global investment firm KKR will invest Rs 5,550 crore in the company’s retail subsidiary Reliance Retail for a 1.28 per cent stake.

The stock jumped 2.95 per cent to Rs 2,276.50 on the BSE. Reliance Industries was the top gainer in the Sensex pack. On the NSE, it gained 2.96 per cent to Rs 2,276.75.

“This investment values Reliance Retail at a pre-money equity value of Rs 4.21 lakh crore. This marks the second investment by KKR in a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, following a Rs 11,367 crore investment in Jio Platforms announced earlier this year,” Reliance Industries said in a statement.

Reliance Industries is lining up investors in its retail unit after the conglomerate raised just over $20 billion this year from global investors, including Facebook Inc, by selling stakes in its Jio Platforms digital business.

Reliance Retail, a subsidiary of RRVL, operates India’s largest, fastest growing and most profitable retail business serving close to 640 million footfalls across its 12,000 stores nationwide.

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, said: “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 look forward to working with KKR’s global platform, industry knowledge and operational expertise across our digital services and retail businesses”.

This marks the second investment by KKR in a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, following a Rs 11,367 crore investment in Jio Platforms announced earlier this year.

KKR said it was deepening its relationship with Reliance. Reliance Retail is “empowering merchants of all sizes and fundamentally changing the retail experience for Indian consumers,” KKR co-founder Henry Kravis said in the statement.

Disclaimer:Reliance Industries Ltd., which also owns Jio, is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.