Reliance Retail receives full subscription amount of Rs 2,069.50 crore from KKR, allots 1.71 crore shares

Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd, the retail arm of Reliance Industries, has received the full subscription amount of Rs 2,069.50 crore from the global investment firm KKR and has allotted 1.71 crore equity shares. Following the share allotment, KKR's shareholding in Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL) has increased to 1.42 per cent, from 1.17 per cent."Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd today received the subscription amount of Rs 2,069.50 crore from Alyssum Asia Holdings II Pte. Ltd. (KKR) and allotted 1,71,58,752 equity shares to KKR," Reliance Industries said in a regulatory filing on Saturday evening. Earlier this month, Reliance Industries had announced KKR's investment of Rs 2,069.50 crore in RRVL, the holding company of the retail business of billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led group, for a 0.25 per cent additional stake at a valuation of about Rs 8.36 lakh crore.

Founded in 1976, KKR has approximately USD 519 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2023. Earlier this month, RIL received Rs 8,278 crore from Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) for around 1 per cent stake in RRVL at a valuation of Rs 8.278 lakh crore (USD 100 billion).In 2020, RRVL had raised Rs 47,265 crore (around USD 6.4 billion) from global private equity funds for a 10.09 per cent stake, valuing the company at more than Rs 4.2 lakh crore.

This was the largest fundraising exercise in the sector at that time. The company had raised funds from Silver Lake, KKR, Mubadala, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, GIC, TPG, General Atlantic and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund at a valuation of around USD 57 billion at that time.RRVL is aggressively expanding its business by acquiring companies and getting the franchise rights of leading international brands for India.

Besides, it is investing in scaling up infrastructure and also acquired the India business of German retail major Metro Cash and Carry. Last month, at the AGM of Reliance Industries, Chairman Mukesh Ambani said that several marquee global strategic and financial investors have shown strong interest in Reliance Retail. Addressing shareholders, he had said that if RRVL was listed on stock exchanges, then based on the current valuation, it would be among the top four listed entities in the country.

In less than three years, the valuation of Reliance Retail has doubled and the pace of this value creation is "unmatched globally", Ambani had said. In its latest annual report, RIL said Reliance Retail had achieved a significant milestone of crossing a billion transactions and its registered user base has grown to 249 million. It operates a network of over 18,500 stores and digital commerce platforms across grocery, consumer electronics, fashion & lifestyle, and pharma consumption baskets. In FY23, Reliance Retail's digital commerce and new commerce businesses contributed 18 per cent of its revenue, which stood at Rs 2.60 lakh crore.