The past months have seen several high-profile names make investments in Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL), a subsidiary of Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Limited. Another big name, and a prominent investor in other Ambani ventures, is joining that list. A wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) is set to invest a substantial sum of ₹4,966.80 crore into Reliance Retail Ventures. This development even as Reliance Industries is eyeing a public listing of RRVL.
Reliance Retail announced the same in an official statement, revealing that the deal is currently subject to customary approvals. It added that Morgan Stanley acted as the financial advisor to Reliance Retail for the transaction, while Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and Davis Polk & Wardwell acted as legal counsels.
ADIA’s investment values RRVL at a pre-money equity value of ₹8.381 lakh crore – something that catapults the Reliance subsidiary into the echelons of India’s top four companies by equity value and serves as a testament to its standing in the market. ADIA’s investment will ensure that it gets an equity stake of 0.59% in RRVL on a fully-diluted basis, according to reports.
Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) had previously invested ₹8,278 crore into RRVL in August. KKR then joined the ranks in September, with a $250Mn investment. And between 2020 and 2021, RRVL raised a total of ₹47,265 crore from nine global investors, including the likes of sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co, private equity firm General Atlantic, investment firm KKR, and others.
“We are pleased to further deepen our relationship with ADIA with their continued support as an investor in Reliance Retail Ventures Limited. Their long-standing experience of over decades of value creation globally will further benefit us in implementing our vision and driving transformation of the Indian retail sector. ADIA’s investment in RRVL is a further testament to their belief in the Indian economy and our business fundamentals, strategy and execution capabilities,” Isha Mukesh Ambani, Executive Director, RRVL, commented on the matter.
ADIA’s investment seems to be a sound choice, especially since RRVL’s journey in the Indian retail landscape has been nothing short of remarkable. Through its subsidiaries and associates, RRVL serves a staggering 267 million loyal customers, according to the company. For those who are unaware, it operates an integrated omnichannel network comprising over 18,500 stores, and is a well-established player in India’s retail landscape = dabbling in segments such as grocery, consumer electronics, fashion and lifestyle, and pharmaceuticals.
Apart from this, RRVL also aims to foster collaborations with domestic and global firms alike, and benefits to Indian society, empower micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and generate employment opportunities for millions of Indians. RRVL’s New Commerce business has digitally transformed over 3 million small and unorganized merchants, equipping them with technology tools and an efficient supply chain infrastructure.
