Reliance Jio Might Sell Another 8% Stake Of Its Platform: Report

Silver Lake has recently invested Rs. 5,655.75 crore for acquiring a 1.15 percent stake in the Jio platform. Now, it has been reported that Reliance Industries is likely to sell another eight percent stake of Reliance Jio to support its revenues.

The report said that this deal will help Jio to raise cash without the initial public offer, and there are chances that this will give the operator an upper hand or advantage over other telecom players, such as Airtel and Vodafone-Idea.

"We see room for further 8 percent stake sale in line with (Reliance Industries) management commentary (timing unknown)," brokerage BofA Securities said. It said that any other investment in the Jio platform is expected to help Jio 850 MHz airwaves, including the 5G spectrum. "We see room for Jio to have a first-mover advantage in 5G," BofA added.

Furthermore, the report states that My Jio App is likely to become a super app and is expected to help consumers. "If the MyJio app is integrated with WhatsApp, as an outcome of a partnership with Facebook, it could accelerate traction on the Jio app ecosystem," BofA said.

Key Things About Reliance Jio And Silver Lake Deal

The new investment will increase the company's value in the industry. It is estimated that it will have an equity value of Rs. 4.90 lakh crore, and if we calculate the enterprise value then it could be around Rs. 5.15 lakh crore. Reliance Jio also said that it has been working on technologies, such as Augmented and Mixed Reality, Blockchain, Cloud and Edge Computing, Big Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, and Internet of Things.

This is the second time in two weeks Reliance Jio has announced that it is selling its stake to another US firm. Earlier, Facebook shared that it is buying a 9.99 percent stake. However, this investment shows that Reliance Jio has the capability to monetize its business, and if you compare it with other operators Jio has always tried to offer internet to all at affordable rates. So, this deal or any other stake selling deal will help Jio and RIL to reduce their debt.