Following Jio's success and ahead of its foray into the digital economy as well as e-commerce, Mukesh Ambani's Reliance bagged $4.5 billion from Google and $5.7 billion from Meta, as others also lined up to back it. Once known for its oil and gas business, Reliance has come a long way as it now owns an interest in diverse sectors from retail to telecom, and plans to list its digital ventures.
These stock market debuts for the conglomerate's firms, may also mark the exit of some foreign private equity investors from Reliance, as the holding period nears an end.
Holding period approaches its end
Global investors led by Facebook and Google bagged an 33 per cent stake in Reliance Jio when they invested a whopping $20 billion in the company back in 2020.
The typical PE holding period of four years is coming to an end in 2024, and some of them are expected to sell their stakes according to brokerage firm Bernstein.
Went debt free as investments arrived
Back in 2020, Reliance had also announced that it had become net-debt free, as investments from global players trickled in.
Last year it once again launched a fundraiser to generate $5 billion via bond sale to refinance its debt.
This came at a time Reliance scaled up its expansion and bagged major brands in the retail space.
