Silver Lake Co-investors Buy Additional Stake in Reliance Retail for Rs 1,875 Crore

US private equity firm Silver Lake co-investors will be investing additional 18.75 billion rupees into Reliance Retail Ventures, the retail arm of Reliance Industries, the firm said in a regulatory filing late on Wednesday.

Silver Lake, whose portfolio includes stakes in Airbnb and Twitter Inc, has previously invested in Reliance’s digital business.

The latest investment values Reliance Retail at a pre-money equity value of Rs 4.285 lakh crore, RIL said in an exchange filing.

Commenting on the aggregate investment brought by Silver Lake, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of RIL, said, “Silver Lake and its co- investors are valued partners on our journey to transform Indian Retail for the benefit of all Indians. We are pleased to have their confidence and support, as well as the benefit of their leadership in global technology investing and their valued network of relationships for the Retail revolution in India. Silver Lake’s additional investment is a strong endorsement of the tremendous potential of Indian Retail and the capabilities of Reliance Retail.”

The latest investment in Reliance Retail was the second on September 30 and fourth in three weeks. Earlier on Wednesday, Reliance announced that private equity firm General Atlantic will invest 36.75 billion rupees for a 0.84% stake in its retail arm.

The deals underscore growing investor interest in Reliance Retail, which is led by Mukesh Ambani. Reliance is seeking investors for its retail arm after raising more than $20 billion in recent months for its digital unit.

Earlier in September, Silver Lake had announced a 75 billion rupees ($1.02 billion) investment in Reliance Retail, and the total investment by the US private equity firm and its co-investors now stood at 93.75 billion rupees ($1.27 billion).

With the latest investments, Reliance has now sold about a 4.3% stake and raised 186 billion rupees ($2.53 billion) in its retail unit.

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