Mukesh Ambani: Google to Pick 7.7% stake in Jio for Rs 33,737 crore

Reliance India chairman Mukesh Ambani said Wednesday Google will invest over Rs 33,737 crore for a 7.7 per cent stake in Jio Platforms taking the string of investments well over Rs 152,000 crore.

“We are delighted to welcome Google as a strategic investor in Jio Platforms. We have signed a binding partnership and an investment agreement under which Google will invest Rs 33,737 crores for a 7.7 per cent stake in Jio Platforms,” Ambani said at the company’s annual general meeting.

This takes the cumulative fund raising by Reliance in less than three months to Rs 2,12,809 crore, he said.

This includes investments by Facebook and other investors in Jio Platforms and Rs 53,124 crore Rights Issue, and investment by BP in fuel retailing venture.

“It is in excess of our net debt of Rs 1,61,035 crore at the end of FY19-20”, he said. Reliance is now truly a zero net debt company, well ahead of my goal of March 2021.

Google chief executive Sundar Pichai had on Monday announced plans to invest Rs 75,000 crore in India over the next five to seven years to help accelerate the adoption of digital technologies in the country.

Announcing the Rs 75,000 crore investment through Google for India Digitisation Fund, Pichai asserted that the move is a reflection of company’s confidence in the future of the country and its digital economy.