Reliance Industries hits new high; market-cap crosses Rs 11 trillion

RIL raised over Rs 168,818 crore in just 58 days become net debt-free company. Mukesh Ambani now plans to list the telecom and retail businesses in the next five years

Shares of Reliance Industries (RIL) hit a new all-time high of Rs 1,788.60 on the BSE on Friday after the company on Thursday said it has sold a 2.32 per cent stake in its digital unit to Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) for Rs 11,367 crore and has become net-debt free. The stock, however, ended at Rs 1,759.50, up over 6 per cent.

The past two day’s gain has seen the market capitalisation (market-cap) of the company cross Rs 11 trillion on the bourses for the first time ever. 

The investment by Saudi sovereign wealth fund is "at an equity value of Rs 4.91 trillion and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 trillion", the company said in a statement in post-market hours on Thursday.

With this investment, Jio Platforms has raised Rs 115,693.95 crore from some of the leading global investment powerhouses at a time when the world is deeply impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, resulting in a recession kind of environment for the global economy.

RIL now net-debt free

In a separate exchange filing, RIL said that it has raised over Rs 168,818 crore in just 58 days through investments by global tech investors of Rs 115,693.95 crore and rights issue of Rs 53,124.20 crore.

Along with the stake sale to BP in the petro-retail JV, the total fund raise is in excess of Rs 1.75 lakh crore. With these investments, RIL has become net debt-free. The company’s net-debt was Rs 161,035 crore, as on 31st March 2020, it said.

“We have received strong interest from strategic and financial investors in our consumer businesses, Jio and Reliance Retail. We will move towards listing of both these companies within the next five years,” said Ambani. READ ABOUT IT HERE

Meanwhile, according to Bloomberg report, RIL is closing in on a deal that would see it acquire stakes in some units of Future Group, people familiar with the matter said, a move that would bolster the e-commerce ambitions of the conglomerate and its billionaire Chairman Mukesh Ambani. CLICK HERE TO READ FULL REPORT

Morgan Stanley maintains an ‘overweight’ on the stock with a target price of Rs 1,801, while Goldman Sachs has ‘buy’ call with a 12-month target price of Rs 1,755.