By Team BiharConnect
Google will invest Rs.33,737 crore to buy 7.73 per cent stake in Mukesh Ambani-led Jio Platforms. The two companies signed binding agreements on Wednesday. This investment by Google values Jio Platforms at an equity value of Rs.4.36 lakh crore.
With this, the total investment from financial and strategic investors into Jio Platforms stands at Rs. 1,52,056 crore.
“Google is proud to invest Rs.33,737 crore into Jio. I am excited that our joint collaboration will focus on increasing access for hundreds of millions of Indians who don’t currently own a smartphone while improving the mobile experience for all,” said Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet.
The investment will build on Jio’s and Google’s existing efforts to expand the benefits of digitisation across the length and breadth of India, beyond the current 500+ million Internet users in the country, Reliance Industries Limited said in a statement.
Jio Platforms and Google have also entered into a commercial agreement to jointly develop an entry level affordable smartphone with optimizations to the Android operating system and the Play Store. “Together we are excited to rethink, from the ground up, how millions of users in India can become owners of smartphones. This effort will unlock new opportunities, further power the vibrant ecosystem of applications and push innovation to drive growth for the new Indian economy,” it added.
Commenting on the deal Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, said, “Google has empowered millions of Indians to access helpful information and, like Jio, is a force for change and innovation.”
“We welcome Google onboard and are excited about our partnership for what it can deliver to Indians, from universalising Internet usage to deepening the new digital economy and providing a prime mover to India’s economic growth. Together, we hope to play a strong facilitative role in the transformative journey of building a new, Digital India,” Ambani added.
Jio Platforms, a majority-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries, is a next-generation technology platform focused on providing high-quality and affordable digital services across India, with more than 388 million subscribers. Jio Platforms has made significant investments across its digital ecosystem, powered by leading technologies spanning broadband connectivity, smart devices, cloud and edge computing, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, augmented and mixed reality and blockchain.
