Google pays Rs 33,737 cr to Jio Platforms as its biggest-ever investment in an Indian company

Alphabet Inc’s Google paid Rs 33,737 crore to Reliance Industries’ Jio Platforms, as its biggest-ever investment in an Indian company. Google now holds 7.73 per cent share in RIL’s subsidiary Jio Platforms. Google paid the amount after the Competition Commission of India (CCI), earlier this month, approved the proposed purchase of 7.73 per cent stake in Jio Platforms. Reliance Jio has received a flood of investment in recent months. It has raised a total of Rs 1.52 lakh crore by selling almost 33 per cent stake to 13 financial and strategic investors in only 11 weeks, helping to cut down RIL’s net debt target for the full fiscal year. 

The investment is aimed to develop an entry-level affordable smartphone with optimisations to the Android operating system and the Play Store. The deal was announced on July 15 at Reliance Industries’ annual general meeting and the partnership was supposed to make both companies cooperate on technology initiatives, including the development of affordable smartphones. 

Earlier, Jio Platforms had received a subscription amount of Rs 2,624.5 crore from Intel Capital and Qualcomm Ventures, according to a regulatory filing. The subscription amount of Rs 1,894.5 crore came from Intel Capital for 0.39 per cent stake in Jio Platforms, and Rs 730 crore came from Qualcomm Asia Pacific for 0.15 per cent stake. Intel Capital invests globally in innovative companies with a focus on disruptive technology areas like cloud computing, artificial intelligence and 5G opportunities where Jio is also innovating and investing for growth.

In all, Jio Platforms has raised capital from thirteen investors, including Facebook, Google, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, KKR, Mubadala, ADIA, TPG, L Catterton, Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, Intel Capital and Qualcomm Ventures, for a total consideration of 32.9 per cent stake.

Meanwhile, Reliance Jio reported a net profit of Rs 2,844 crore, an increase of 185 per cent on-year for the Q2 FY21. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the net profit rose nearly 13 per cent. The telecom provider had posted a net profit of Rs 2,520 crore in the June quarter.