Abu Dhabi Investment Authority invests $750 million in India’s Jio Platforms

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) has announced on Sunday that it is investing $750 million in Indian digital services company Jio Platforms to acquire a 1.16 percent stake in it. The announcement comes just three days after Mubadala announced its decision to invest $1.2 billion in the Indian company.

Jio has raised over $12 billion in the last two months, with other investors being Facebook, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, and KKR. Saudi wealth fund PIF is also reportedly considering buying a stake in Jio. Facebook alone had invested $5.7 billion for a roughly 10 percent stake in Jio Platforms almost six weeks ago.

Jio Platforms that is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries (one of the largest Indian conglomerates) owns India’s largest mobile network operator Jio and other digital businesses of Reliance. Jio Platforms currently has over 388 million subscribers.

The company has the vision to offer different types of services to 1.3 billion people and businesses across the country, including small merchants, mico-businesses, and farmers.

“The acquisition is the latest principal investment by ADIA’s Private Equities Department (PED), across its target sectors of financial services, healthcare, industrials, technology, and consumer products,” said the Abu Dhabi-based sovereign wealth fund in a statement.

Hamad Shahwan Aldhaheri, Executive Director of the Private Equities Department at ADIA, said, “Jio Platforms is at the forefront of India’s digital revolution, poised to benefit from major socio-economic developments and the transformative effects of technology on the way people live and work. The rapid growth of the business, which has established itself as a market leader in just four years, has been built on a strong track record of strategic execution. Our investment in Jio is a further demonstration of ADIA’s ability to draw on deep regional and sector expertise to invest globally in market-leading companies and alongside proven partners.”

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries, said, “I am delighted that ADIA, with its track record of more than four decades of successful long term value investing across the world, is partnering with Jio Platforms in its mission to take India to digital leadership and generate inclusive growth opportunities. This investment is a strong endorsement of our strategy and India’s potential.”