Reliance Retail in Discussions with Gulf and Singapore Funds for $1.5 Billion Investment

14 Sep, 2023

Reliance Retail in Discussions with Gulf and Singapore Funds for $1.5 Billion Investment

Reliance Retail, India's leading retailer under the stewardship of Asia's wealthiest individual, Mukesh Ambani, is currently engaged in discussions with its existing investors, which include the sovereign wealth funds of Singapore, Abu Dhabi, and Saudi Arabia. These negotiations revolve around the possibility of these investors injecting approximately $1.5 billion in new capital into the company. The insights into these discussions come from three credible sources who possess direct knowledge of the ongoing plan.

Reliance Retail has set an internal target to secure a total of $3.5 billion in investments, with the objective of finalizing this fundraising effort by the end of September. This information was initially reported by Reuters. As part of this effort, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) had previously announced a $1 billion investment last month, and just this week, KKR & Co unveiled their plan to invest $250 million.

According to one of the sources, sovereign wealth funds, including Singapore's GIC, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), are contemplating investments of at least $500 million each in Reliance Retail. This substantial investment is set against a valuation of $100 billion for the retail giant.

As for the responses from the mentioned entities, both GIC and ADIA have opted not to provide any comments on the matter. In contrast, PIF has not yet responded to Reuters' requests for a comment. Reliance, in their statement, maintained their standard stance regarding media speculations and rumors, stating, "we do not comment on media speculation and rumors."

A second source has suggested that some of these three investors might potentially contribute amounts less than the aforementioned $500 million. Additionally, ongoing discussions with one or two more potential investors are also part of the fundraising initiative.

"All three investors have seriously evaluated the company," noted the first source, emphasizing the thoroughness of the assessments conducted by these investors. All sources have opted to remain anonymous due to the confidential nature of these discussions.

It is important to note that the final investment figures and funding plans remain subject to potential modifications as these discussions evolve.