Within two weeks of Facebook picking up a 9.99 per cent stake in Reliance Jio, Silver Lake, a global leader in technology investing will now invest Rs 5,655.75 crore in the company.
Facebook on April 22 had signed an agreement with Reliance Jio to launch JioMart on WhatsApp platform.
Commenting on the transaction with Silver Lake, Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Ltd, said, “I am delighted to welcome Silver Lake as a valued partner to transform the Indian digital ecosystem for the benefit of all Indians.”
Silver Lake is one of the most respected voices in technology and finance. “We are excited to leverage insights from their global technology relationships for the Indian Digital Society’s transformation,” Ambani said.
“In the wake of the severe economic disruptions caused by the COVID19 pandemic, globally and especially in India, this partnership with Silver Lake, has special significance,” a statement issued by RIL, said.
With approximately $40 billion assets under management and committed capital, Silver Lake investments have included Airbnb, Alibaba, Ant Financial, Alphabet’s Verily and Waymo units, Dell Technologies, Twitter and numerous other global technology leaders.
Egon Durban, Silver Lake Co-CEO and managing partner, said, “Jio Platforms is one of the world’s most remarkable companies, led by an incredibly strong and entrepreneurial management team who are driving and actualizing a courageous vision.”
“They have brought extraordinary engineering capabilities to bear on bringing the power of low-cost digital services to a mass consumer and small businesses population. The market potential they are addressing is enormous, and we are honored and pleased to have been invited to partner with Mukesh Ambani and the team at Reliance and Jio to help further the Jio mission,” Durban said.
Silver Lake backs some of the biggest global brands in sports entertainment ranging from football to mixed martial arts to live venue services.
Launched in 1999 as a tech-focused investor, Silver Lake is based in California. It had sold Skype to Microsoft in 2013.