Reliance spent $13 bn on acquisitions across sectors in five years

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd has spent $13 billion on acquisitions in the past five years across new energy, telecom, retail and media business to script a pivot away from core oil and petrochemicals business to clean energy and consumer facing verticals.

Last week, Reliance bought oncology platform Karkinos Healthcare for Rs 375 crore, adding another stack to its diagnostic and digital healthcare ecosystem, Morgan Stanley said in a report.

Of this, $ 6 billion was in acquisition of companies and assets in media and education business and $ 2.6 billion in telecom and internet verticals. It spent $ 1.7 billion on acquisitions in new energy and $ 1.14 billion in retail, according to Morgan Stanley.

RIL's biggest acquisition in the last five years has been buyout of local cable TV and internet service providers Hathway Cable and Datacom Ltd for $981 million.

It spent $ 771 million on buying Norwegian-headquartered solar panel maker REC Solar Holdings and another $ 767 million on buying search and database firm JustDial, the report said.

Last week, it acquired a 100 per cent stake in Karkinos Healthcare, increasing its exposure to the diagnostic and healthcare ecosystem following previous investments like HAGI, Netmeds and Strand Life Science.

Karkinos provides technology driven, innovative solutions for early detection, diagnosis and management of cancer, according to Morgan Stanley.