Reliance Industries has raised $10 billion (roughly Rs. 75,869 crores) in just a month through five stake sales in digital unit Jio Platforms, whose valuation has surged to $65 billion (roughly Rs. 4.93 lakh crores).
That makes it India's second-most valuable stand-alone tech business after Tata Consultancy Services which is worth $99 billion (roughly Rs. 7.51 lakh crores).
Reliance Industries, controlled by Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani, was worth about $129 billion (roughly Rs. 9.87 lakh crores) as of Thursday's close. Jio Platforms' valuation puts it just ahead of the combined value of the conglomerate's oil, gas, and other businesses.
The latest $1.5 billion (Rs. 11,367crores in India) investment comes on the heels of four other deals. Facebook led with a $5.7 billion (Rs 43,574 crores in India) purchase of a 9.99 percent stake. Vista Equity Partners has invested about $1.5 billion (Rs. 11,367 crores in India), General Atlantic invested roughly $850 million (Rs. 6,598 crores in India) and Silverlake put $750 million (Rs. 5,656 Crores in India).
After the latest sale, Reliance retains 83 percent of Jio Platforms.
The deals will help Reliance meet its goal of eliminating $21.4 billion (rooughly Rs. 1.6 lakh crores) in net debt by the end of the year.
Reliance's shares have tripled in value in the last three years coinciding with staggering subscriber growth at Jio Infocomm, which is now part of Jio Platforms.
The telecom carrier has notched up more than 376 million subscribers since its launch in late 2016, mainly at the expense of Vodafone Idea. Vodafone Idea lost a fifth of its wireless customers last year and had some 329 million subscribers as of January.
Reliance's oil and gas, refining and petrochemical businesses once underpinned the conglomerate's growth, but they have taken a sharp hit as oil prices collapsed. Weakness in those businesses led Reliance to post its worst quarterly profit fall in 11 years last month.
In addition to operating the world's biggest refining complex, Reliance also operates supermarkets and TV channels.
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