Google set to invest $4.5 Billion in Jio for a 7.7 percent stake
Google joins a slew of private equity firms that have invested in Mukesh Ambani’s technology venture in the past 2 months. Recent investors in Jio Platforms include US-based Facebook, General Atlantic, KKR and Intel Corporation, Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
Google’s move comes at a time the government is preparing to auction 5G airwaves to telecoms service providers.
“We’ll do it (deploy funds) through a mix of equity investments in large Indian companies, startups, partnerships, as well as infrastructure investments such as data centres,” Google’s Sundar Pichai had said. The fund size, he said, provides an “opportunity to directly make larger investments” in bigger companies.
Reliance Industries said the transaction is subject to regulatory and other customary approvals.
India is a key market for the likes of Google and Facebook. The number of internet users in India is expected to rise to about 850 million in 2022, according to PwC, up from 450 million in 2017. Google dominates search, video, maps and email in India. Nine out of 10 smartphones sold in India come with Google’s Android OS.
