Indian Economy News

Qualcomm Ventures to invest Rs 730 crore in Jio Platforms for 0.15 per cent stake

  • IBEF
  • July 13, 2020

Qualcomm Ventures, the investment arm of Qualcomm Inc., plans to invest Rs 730 crore (US$ 103.56 million) for a 0.15 per cent stake in Jio Platforms Ltd, becoming the 12th entity to invest in the digital services subsidiary of Reliance Industries (RIL) in over three months.

According to RIL’s statement, the deal values Jio Platforms at an equity value of Rs 4.91 trillion (US$ 69.66 billion) and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 trillion (US$ 73.20 billion).

“Qualcomm has been a valued partner for several years and we have a shared vision of connecting everything by building a robust and secure wireless and digital network in India. Qualcomm offers deep technology know-how and insights that will help us deliver on our 5G vision and the digital transformation of India for both people and enterprises," said Mr Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director, RIL.

So far, RIL has sold a total of 25.24 per cent stake in Jio Platforms to Facebook, General Atlantic, TPG, KKR, Silver Lake, L Catterton, Vista Equity Partners, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Mubadala Investment Company, and Public Investment Fund (PIF), Intel Capital and Qualcomm Ventures, raising Rs 118,318.45 crore. (US$ 16.79 billion).

The platform has around 388 million subscribers and has significant investments across its digital ecosystem.

It operates a host of digital apps and services, including music streaming service JioSaavn, on-demand live television service JioTV and payments app JioMoney, and smartphones and broadband business.

“With our shared goal of extending the benefits of digital connectivity to everyone and everything, we anticipate Jio Platforms will deliver a new set of services and experiences to Indian consumers. With unmatched speeds and emerging use cases, 5G is expected to transform every industry in the coming years," said Mr Steve Mollenkopf, CEO of Qualcomm Inc.

Qualcomm is a wireless technology innovator and is considered as a driving force behind the development, launch and expansion of 5G. The company has spent over US$ 62 billion in cumulative research and development and has over 140,000 patents and patent applications under its belt.

Qualcomm Ventures is a global fund that invests in pioneering companies across the wireless ecosystem in areas like 5G, AI, IoT, automotive, networking and enterprise. In India, Qualcomm Ventures has made investments in companies related to domestic issues from dairy, transportation, and defence, and build products for India and the world market.

This investment is subject to customary conditions precedent, RIL said.

Financial advisor to Reliance Industries was Morgan Stanley, whereas AZB & Partners and Davis Polk & Wardwell acted as legal counsels. Trilegal acted as legal counsel for Qualcomm Ventures.

 

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

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