Jio dilutes 25% stake; raises fresh funds from Intel Capital

Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Jio is all set to raise Rs 1,894.50 crore from Intel Capital, the investment arm of Intel Corporations for 0.39% stake. This marks the twelfth deal closed by Reliance’s digital unit in the past 11 weeks. 

With the fresh round, the conglomerate has now raised a total investment of Rs 117,588.45 crore from the likes of eleven investors - Silver Lake investing twice - by diluting a total stake of 25.09% in Jio.  

The latest investment values Jio platforms at an equity valuation of Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore. Intel’s investment has come 15 days after Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund PIF infused funds in Jio for a 0.39% equity stake on a fully diluted basis. 

Commenting on the deal, Ambani said, “Intel Capital has an outstanding record of being a valuable partner for leading technology companies globally. We are therefore excited to work together with Intel to advance India’s capabilities in cutting-edge technologies that will empower all sectors of our economy and improve the quality of life of 1.3 billion Indians.”

Jio has closed twelve back to back investments in the past two months. Marking the largest deal in the Indian internet space, the company scooped up Rs 43,574 crore funding from Facebook for a 9.9% stake. Since then, several blue-chip backers like Vista Equity, General Atlantic, KKR, Silver Lake, Mubadala, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, TPG, L Catterton, and Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund PIF have also infused funds in Jio.

Last month, RIL announced that it had become a net debt-free company and that too nine months before its projected date. While the fundraise was mostly propelled by the stake sale in the telecom vertical, it had also raised an additional Rs 53,124.20 crore through a rights issue of its shares. These issues were subscribed to 1.59 times, one of the largest ever by any non-financial entity in the last ten years.

Intel Capital is the investment arm of Intel Corporation and invests in innovative startups targeting artificial intelligence, cloud, 5G, and a wide range of other disruptive technologies. Since its inception, the firm has invested $12.9 billion in more than 1,582 companies worldwide, and 692 portfolio companies have gone public or participated in a merger.