Qualcomm to invest Rs 730 crore in Jio Platforms

The stake sale spree by Jio Platforms, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, continues as a global wireless technology inventor, Qualcomm has agreed to buy a 0.15 per cent stake in the firm for Rs 730 crore.

The deal, which values, Jio Platforms at an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore, is subject to regulatory approvals.

In a spree of deals in past two and a half months, the Jio Platforms, which is the holding company of India's largest telecom services provider Reliance Jio Infocomm, has been able to generate investments worth Rs 1.18 lakh crore from the global investors. For this, Reliance Industries would have to part with a 25.24 per cent stake in the firm.

Of this Rs 1.18 lakh crore, Jio Platforms has already received investments worth Rs 73,636 crore, making up 16.12 per cent stake from Facebook, Interstellar Platform Holdings, The Public Investment Fund, Silverlake, General Atlantic.

The company, with this has raised a total of Rs 1.71 lakh crore including a rights issue worth Rs 53,124.20 crore. This has made company net debt-free, way before the stipulated deadline of March 31, 2021.

Due to these deals, the share prices of Reliance Industries have surged by 114 per cent from the March lows and closed Rs 1,878.50 per share on Friday. Propelled by the rise in the share price, the company's promoter Mukesh Ambani has re-entered the list of top 10 richest people in the world, overtaking ace investor Warren Buffet, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index. As on Friday, Ambani was worth $70.2 billion, seeing his wealth surge by $11.6 billion in 2020.

"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 and extending the benefits of digital connectivity to everyone in India. As a world leader in wireless technologies, 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," Ambani said on Qualcomm deal.