KKR to invest $775 million in Reliance Retail Ventures

Private equity firm KKR & Co Inc will invest $755 million in the retail unit of Reliance Industries Ltd , the Indian conglomerate said on Wednesday, bringing the total funding in Reliance Retail to $1.78 billion within a month.

Reliance Industries, controlled by Asia′s richest man Mukesh Ambani, is lining up investors in its retail unit after the conglomerate raised just over $20 billion this year from global investors, including Facebook Inc , by selling stakes in its Jio Platforms digital business.

The Mumbai-headquartered Reliance has approached investors in Jio Platforms about buying stakes in its retail arm, Reuters had reported. While Silver Lake, another one of Jio Platforms′ backers, said earlier this month it will invest $1.02 billion in Reliance Retail.

KKR′s investment for a 1.28% stake in Reliance Retail values the company at 4.21 trillion rupees ($57 billion), Reliance said in a statement.

"Retail, whether online or offline, is a very capital-intensive business, so for Reliance making sure that their retail venture has a funding pipeline of its own is important," said Devangshu Dutta, the chief executive of retail consultancy Third Eyesight.