CCI approves Facebook’s investment in Jio via Jaadhu Holdings

Antitrust watchdog Competition Commission of India has approved Facebook’s proposed investment in Jio Platforms via its newly formed subsidiary Jaadhu Holdings LLC.

The commission made the announcement via a tweet on Wednesday.

In April, the US-based social media giant had announced a $5.7 billion or Rs 43,574 crore investment in Jio Platforms Limited, part of Reliance Industries Limited, for a minority stake of 9.99%.

The deal was under the review of CCI for quite some time to check the potential of misuse of data. The regulator was also considering whether new parameters should be included in its assessment criteria.

A recent report published in the Business Standard said that Facebook is ensuring taking all necessary steps to meet the compliance for the deal. 

The report said that the Mark Zuckerberg-led firm has hired one of the Big Four consultancy firms to advise it on how the new “beneficial ownership” norms would apply to the proposed investment in India's largest telecom network as Facebook has shareholders based in China and Hong Kong. 

Since India had recently put a cap on FDI from China via automatic route, Facebook is seeking legal advice in the multi billion dollar deal, added the report.

Facebook and its wholly owned messenger service WhatsApp have proposed to set up a digital marketplace as part of the investment in Jio. On the other hand, the Mukesh Ambani-led firm, which commands a 32% market share with a base of over 1.15 billion SIM card connections, has been eyeing to grab a significant pie of the grocery and hyperlocal retail business with its online platform JioMart. 

After the announcement of the Facebook deal, Reliance raised close to Rs 1.75 lakh crore through overseas investment, rights issue and selling stake in its fuel retailing venture to BP Plc of UK.

As a result, Reliance Industries Limited became a net debt-free company nine months before its projection.