More firms eye stake in Jio Platforms

General Atlantic and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund look to join Jio.

Two more firms are eyeing a share of Reliance Industries $65-billion digital unit Jio Platforms. New York-based private equity firm General Atlantic is discussing a potential investment of close to a billion dollars in Mumbai-based company. Saudi Arabia's $320-billion Public Investment Fund (PIF) is also considering buying a minority stake in Jio unit.

While the deals are yet to be finalised, the investments could be sealed this month. Any new investments into Jio Platforms will add to the $8 billion deal run that RIL Chairman & Managing Director Mukesh Ambani has sealed in recent weeks.

On April 22, social networking giant Facebook agreed to pay $5.7 billion for a 10 per cent stake in the digital unit, while Silver Lake Partners and Vista Equity Partners last week said they would invest about $2.25 billion in total. The funding spree comes as Mukesh Ambani looks to achieve his target of becoming debt-free by March 2021.

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