Now, GIC, TPG together put Rs 7,350cr in Reliance Retail – Times of India

MUMBAI: Reliance Industries (RIL) has announced two more deals totalling Rs 7,350 crore in its retail unit.
GIC, which manages Singapore’s foreign reserves, will invest Rs 5,513 crore for a 1.2% stake in Reliance Retail Ventures, the holding company of India’s biggest and most profitable retailer, while US-based TPG will put in Rs 1,836 crore for a 0.4% in the unit. These investments have assigned a value of Rs 4.3 lakh crore to Reliance Retail.
While GIC will be the first Southeast Asian investor in the RIL arm, TPG will be the fourth US fund to invest in the unit, which so far has raised Rs 32,198 crore by selling a 7.3% stake. These funds are betting on India’s retail story where RIL is expected to play a bigger role with its offline and online ventures.
Reliance Retail is GIC’s first investment in an RIL arm, while TPG had previously invested in RIL’s digital and telecom services unit. The US fund had put in Rs 4,547 crore for a small stake in Jio Platforms.
RIL, India’s most valuable listed entity, has recently announced the acquisition of Future Retail for Rs 24,713 crore and is in the midst of rolling out its ‘new commerce’ strategy. This covers combining Reliance’s physical store network with its fledgling e-commerce play. It also involves millions of mom-and-pop stores as last-mile delivery agents to take on larger online rivals Amazon and Flipkart in the country’s $800-billion retail market.
More financial investors are expected to be part of RIL’s retail unit, which plans to go for an IPO in the next few years. The listing could give the retail business a higher valuation and investors an opportunity to exit from the outfit.