RIL gains 1% as Intel Capital to invest Rs 1,894 crore in Jio Platforms

Shares of Reliance Industries (RIL) gained as much as 1.4 per cent to Rs 1,785.65 apiece on the BSE on Friday after the company announced Intel Capital will invest Rs 1,894.50 crore in its Jio Platforms at an equity value of Rs 4.91 trillion and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 trillion for a 0.39 per cent stake. 

This will be the twelfth international deal for Reliance's digital arm in less than three months, taking the total investment amount to Rs 117,588.45 crore. READ MORE

At 09:21 am, the stock was trading 1 per cent higher at Rs 1,778 on the BSE as compared to around 0.5 per cent gain in the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex. 

The stock had hit an all-time high of Rs 1,804 on June 22 this year while its 52-week low stands at Rs 867.82 on March 23, 2020.

Last month, RIL announced that the company has turned net debt-free ahead of its March 2021 deadline and will rope in investors in its consumer and retail businesses in the next few quarters, chairman Mukesh Ambani announced today. 

As of March 2020, Reliance had a net debt of Rs 1.61 trillion and the company managed to turn itself net debt-free after raising Rs 1.68 trillion via a 24.7 per cent stake sale in Jio Platforms and its rights issue.

Before Intel's investment, the company's digital services subsidiary Jio Platforms, had raised Rs 1.15 trillion, offering 24.7 per cent stake to a clutch of global investors including Facebook, marquee private equity firms, and sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia and the UAE. 

The company had also informed that an IPO of retail business and Jio is planned in five years.

"Reliance turning net debt free ahead of schedule is a positive catalyst and will help sustain valuation. The Rs 1.68 trillion fund raising gives the company ability to invest and experiment in new business categories. No other Indian corporate is so well placed to tap new opportunities," said Rajiv Sharma, head of research, SBICAP Securities.

RIL is scheduled to hold its first virtual annual general meeting of shareholders on July 15. In a regulatory filing, Reliance - the country's most valuable company- said "the 43rd AGM will be held on Wednesday, July 15, 2020, at 2 pm through video conferencing /  other audio-visual means."