KKR to invest Rs 2,069 crore in Reliance Retail at Rs 8.361 lakh crore equity valuation

Isha Ambani-led Reliance Retail on Monday (September 11) has picked up an additional investment of Rs 2,069 crore from private equity firm KKR.

The deal for a 0.25 percent stake in the retail giant, marks KKR’s second investment in the company, taking its total stake to 1.42 percent, and giving Reliance Retail a valuation of Rs 8,361 lakh crore.

This valuation is higher than the Rs 8.27 lakh crore valuation bestowed on Reliance Retail three weeks ago when Qatar’s sovereign investment fund QIA picked up a 0.99 stake in the company for Rs 8,278 crore.

Incidentally, KKR’s first investment in 2020 of Rs 5,550 crore for a 1.28 percent stake valued Reliance Retail at Rs 4.21 lakh crore. So in effect, this latest investment puts the retailer's valuation at double what it was when KKR first invested three years ago.

The previous fundraising round by RRVL in 2020 from various global investors of an aggregate amount of Rs 47,265 crore was done at a pre-money equity value of Rs 4.21 lakh crore.

Isha Mukesh Ambani, Director of Reliance Retail Ventures, said the company is pleased to receive continued support from KKR as an investor in Reliance Retail Ventures. "The company highly values our deepening partnership with KKR, and their latest investment in RRVL after their previous investment further reinforces their strong belief in RRVL’s vision and capabilities," she said.

Joe Bae, Co-CEO of KKR, said, "We are pleased to extend our relationship with Reliance Retail Ventures. Throughout our investment period in Reliance Retail, we have been impressed by the company’s vision and extensive work to empower retailers across India through digitalisation, as well as by its resilience and performance in spite of the pandemic and other disruptions."