Google likely to invest $4 billion in Reliance's Jio Platforms
After several major conglomerates and foreign funds, technology giant Google is mulling an investment in Reliance Industries' Jio Platforms. The Sundar Pichai-led company, according to a report in Bloomberg, is in talks to buy a stake in the Mukesh Ambani's four-year-old telecom-to-digital entity for about $4 billion. Here's all you need to know about it.
Companies in 'advanced stage' of negotiations to finalize the deal
Multiple people familiar with the developments have confirmed to Bloomberg that Google and Jio Platforms are discussing a stake sale worth $4 billion. They said that the companies are in an 'advanced stage' of the negotiations but did not share any specific details, noting that nothing has been finalized yet and the terms could change in the future.
Announcement possible in coming weeks
If the deal goes through, the companies might make an announcement in the next few weeks, they added. This, considering the $65 billion valuation implied for Jio Platforms through recent deals, would mean that Google would get over 6.1% in the Indian company. When reached out, the internet giant refused to comment on the matter while Jio Platforms did not give a response.
If confirmed, Google would be 13th investor for Jio Platforms
The confirmation of the deal would also mean that Jio Platforms will have another big investor onboard. In the last four months, the company has struck a series of deals with 12 investors, selling them a combined stake of 25.24% for more than $15.7 billion. Among the investors are famous tech giants like Facebook (9.99%), Qualcomm (0.39%), and Intel (0.15%).
Google has planned $10 billion investment for India
The news of the Google-Jio deal comes just a day after the Pichai-led company announced the plan to invest as much as $10 billion in India through "a mix of equity investments, partnerships, and operational, infrastructure and ecosystem investments." Now, if this deal is finalized, it would mean 40% of the pledged investment would go to Jio and its telecom-to-digital products.
India's booming internet market is drawing big tech players
The possibility of this deal shows India's booming telecom and internet market has become an attractive prospect for tech companies. In addition to Google, Microsoft has also been rumored to be mulling an investment (worth as much as $2 billion) in Jio Platforms. Separately, Amazon is also said to be in early-stage talks to buy a stake worth $2 billion in Jio's competitor Airtel.
