Reliance Industries (1), led by Mukesh Ambani, is looking to sell nearly 40% stake in its retail business Reliance Retail, worth 20 Billion USD as per the reports. It is in talks with the e-commerce giant led by Jeff Bezos, Amazon (2). It will be the biggest deal for both Amazon and India.
As per the reports, the partnership between Reliance and Amazon will turn Ambani and Bezos from rivals to one of the fastest-growing consumer markets globally. However, the deal is not yet finalized and may fall apart.
The spokesperson of Reliance, commenting on the report, stated that we do not comment on media rumors and speculations as per our policy. The spokesperson added that the company analyses various opportunities continually. We will make necessary disclosures as per compliance as per our obligations.
The Latest Investment to Give Huge Benefits to Amazon and Reliance
The partnership between Bezos and Ambani will be a brick and mortar for Amazon. It will provide a component to its ambitious online purchasing. Notably, the retail market is worth nearly 1 Trillion USD. For Reliance, the deal gives further credibility to its ambition to create an Indian e-commerce giant like Alibaba Group of China.
Reliance Retail is aggressively working to step into the ecommerce space via new launches, acquisitions, and entries. It also launched JioMart, an online grocery delivery platform for three regions of Mumbai, in December 2019. The service is now expanded to over 200 cities across India. Notably, the firm is now fulfilling around 2.5 lakh orders every day.
JioMart is planning to expand further by including more products in its categories. It includes accessories, apparel, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and medicine. Reliance Retail recently acquired NetMeds for 83 Million USD. It is also in talks to acquire Urban Ladder, an online furniture startup, and Milkbasket, a milk delivery platform, to expand its e-commerce offerings.
Ambani stated that technology would be a key to bring the required transformation in the sector. It will enable various constituents of the retail ecosystem to collaborate and build an inclusive growth platform. The company may also raise investment from Walmart, Amazon rival in the upcoming round.
Author: Rucha Joshi
Source : https://timesnext.com/amazon-to-invest-20-billion-usd-in-reliance-retail/
Date : 2020-09-10T10:07:26.000Z