ADIA re-ups in India's Reliance Retail

KKR invested INR 20.6bn in the company last month, while QIA provided INR 82.8n in August. It brings total funding to more than INR 625bn in the past three years.

The latest investment will deliver ADIA an equity stake of 0.59% on a fully diluted basis. This is approximately the same valuation – USD 100bn – as the investment last month. At the time, KKR noted it established Reliance Retail as one of the four largest companies in India by equity value.

“Reliance Retail has demonstrated strong growth and adaptability in a market that is evolving at an unprecedented pace,” Hamad Shahwan Aldhaheri, an executive director of private equity at ADIA, said in a statement. “This investment aligns with our strategy of supporting our portfolio companies that are transforming their respective end markets.”

It cements Reliance Retail’s status as the largest, fastest growing, and most profitable retail business in India with more than 18,500 stores and digital commerce platforms across grocery, consumer electronics, fashion and lifestyle, and pharma. It claims 267m loyalty programme customers.

Reliance Retail was established in 2006 as a holding entity for all retail assets under domestic conglomerate Reliance Industries. In recent years, it has pursued an ambitious new-economy commerce programme.

The plan is to co-mobilise its Reliance Retail, Jio Platforms, and JioMart businesses to create a network of Jio-branded independent mom-and-pop shops serviced by Jio-owned e-commerce infrastructure and physical supply chains. This represents a definitive pivot for Reliance Industries away from a historical focus on energy and petrochemicals.

A pandemic-inspired investment and expansion drive saw the company raise a INR 472.7bn round featuring ADIA and KKR, as well as TPG Capital, General Atlantic, Mubadala Investment, GIC, and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). That round gave the company a pre-money valuation of about INR 4.3trn.

Jio Platforms, Reliance Industries’ internet and telecoms business, has raised about USD 20bn in private funding in its own right. This was collected between May and July 2020 specifically for supporting the Reliance Retail buildout. ADIA and KKR were among the investors.

 

Reliance Retail generated revenue of INR 2.6tn for the 12 months ended March 2023, up 30% year-on-year. Growth was driven by an acceleration of store network expansion. Net profit also rose 30%, hitting INR 91.8bn.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Expansion
• Consumer
• India
• Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA)
• Reliance Industries
• Growth capital
• e-commerce