A day after Google said it would invest $10 billion in India, the US company is considering to spend a good portion of that amount for a stake in Jio Platforms. The move is part of its plan to join rival Facebook in upping its play in one of the world’s biggest internet services markets.
Google, according to Bloomberg, is in talks to acquire a $4-billion stake in Jio, the digital technology arm of billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries (RIL). If the talks convert into a transaction, then Google will be the second strategic investor in Jio after Facebook, with a seat on the board of the Indian company. Facebook has spent $5.7 billion for a 9.9% stake in Jio.
While announcing its $10-billion commitment to India, Google CEO Sundar Pichai had said that the company will route the investment through equity deals, partnerships and other structures. The US tech major already has investments in Indian companies such as local delivery app Dunzo.
Google, whose Android mobile operating system powers a bulk of India’s 500 million smartphones, is looking at various opportunities to ramp up its play here. And Jio, which counts 400 million subscribers on its wireless network, offers the largest base of customers. So far, RIL has sold a quarter of Jio to 12 foreign investors, raising £11.8 billion ($16 billion) in total. Aside from Facebook, the rest 11 shareholders in Jio are investment funds.
Jio, worth £51.6 billion, is at the core of Ambani’s plan to transform RIL from a refining-to-exploration company to a tech major. All the deals in Jio are a precursor to Ambani’s main plan of taking the digital company public in the future. Ambani may explore an overseas listing for Jio, possibly Nasdaq, after India proposed direct listing of companies in certain foreign jurisdictions.
