KKR becomes Jio Platform's fifth investor in five weeks | ZDNet

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Bringing the amount of investment made to ₹78,562 crore during this recent investment cycle.

Private equity firm KKR has announced it will invest ₹11,367 crore into Jio Platforms to receive a 2.32% equity stake.

Jio Platforms is the holding company of Indian telco Reliance Jio and has over 388 million subscribers. 

According to KKR, the ₹11,367 crore injected into Jio Platforms is the firm's largest investment ever in Asia. KKR said it made the investment as it believes Jio Platforms has the potential to transform India's digital ecosystem.

"Few companies have the potential to transform a country's digital ecosystem in the way that Jio Platforms is doing in India, and potentially worldwide. Jio Platforms is a true homegrown next-generation technology leader in India that is unmatched in its ability to deliver technology solutions and services to a country that is experiencing a digital revolution," KKR co-founder and co-CEO Henry Kravis said. 

See also: The Facebook-Reliance tango is great for both companies, but is it good for India?  

With KKR jumping onto the Jio Platforms bandwagon, this brings the total amount invested into Jio Platform over the past five weeks to ₹78,562 crore. During that period, the likes of Facebook, General Atlantic, Silver Lake, and Vista Equity Partners, have also invested into Jio Platforms.

"I am delighted to welcome KKR, one of the world's most respected financial investors, as a valued partner in our onward march to growing and transforming the Indian digital ecosystem for the benefit of all Indians. KKR shares our ambitious goal of building a premier Digital Society in India" said Reliance Industries chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani.

At the end of 2019, Reliance Jio reported that it had accrued 370 million subscribers, with an average monthly spend per user of ₹128, or $1.67.

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