Reliance Retail to raise $1.02 billion from Silver Lake

Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s retail business Reliance Retail will raise $1.02 billion from Silver Lake, kickstarting a fundraising spree months after its sister venture Jio Platforms raised $20 billion.

The investment in Reliance Retail will grant Silver Lake a 1.75 per cent equity stake in India’s largest retail chain. The deal values Reliance Retail at $57 billion pre-money, its parent firm Reliance Industries said in a statement.

Reliance Retail, which last month acquired several parts of Future Group (India’s second largest retail chain), has 12,000 stores across the country. In the financial year that ended in March, it reported a net profit of $726.4 million. In recent quarters, Oil-to-retail giant Reliance Industries has looked to further expand the reach of Reliance Retail by entering e-commerce space.

Silver Lake’s investment in Reliance Retail will likely be followed by several more high-profile investors in the coming weeks. During Reliance Industries’ annual general meeting in July, Ambani had said the company will “induct global partners and investors in Reliance Retail in the next few quarters.”