Reliance Retail in talks with Silver Lake to sell 1.8% stake for Rs 7,500 crore | Economic Times

Kolkata: Reliance Retail is in advanced negotiation with American private equity investor Silver Lake to sell 1.7-1.8% stake in the entity for about Rs 7500 crore, in what could be the first such deal in the Mukesh Ambani owned retail giant to raise funds, two senior industry executives said.The story was first reported by the Financial Times late Thursday evening. If this deal materialises, it potentially values Reliance Retail at over Rs 4.3 lakh crore. The executives said Ambani wants to raise funds by selling minority stakes in Reliance Retail and is in talks with multiple investors.When contacted, a Reliance Retail spokesperson said the company as a policy does not comment on media speculation and rumours. “Our company evaluates various opportunities on an ongoing basis. We have made and will continue to make necessary disclosures in compliance with our obligations under Securities Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations 2015 and our agreements with the stock exchanges,” the person said. An email sent to Silver Lake remained unanswered till filing of this story.Earlier this year, Ambani had raised $20 billion of investment for the digital business Jio Platforms from 13 global investors. This includes about Rs 10,202 crore investment by Silver Lake in this entity. The FT story said investors in Jio Platforms had been given the opportunity to invest in Reliance Retail.Reliance Retail is India’s largest retail chain operating stores across formats and recently acquired the retail assets of Future Group. Ambani in the recent company’s annual general meeting had informed shareholders that Reliance Retail had received strong interest from strategic and financial investors.