Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) made several acquisitions in the past three years to boost the product offerings of its subsidiaries—Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. and Reliance Retail Ltd., among others. RIL has put in $566 million+ in media and education, $194 million+ in retail, $1.2 billion+ in telecom and internet firms, $100 million+ in digital firms, and $391 million+ in the chemicals and energy space.
The acquisitions by Reliance Industries clearly project RIL’s aspiration to be counted among the top 20 companies in the world. Along with refining and petrochemicals, Reliance Jio and Reliance Retail could play a part in achieving the feat. RIL’s telecom venture Jio has helped improve its perception in terms of consumer services. A survey indicates that the perception of RIL’s consumer services has improved after the launch of Jio with 66% of users considering RIL as a more consumer-friendly brand.
Within 2 years, Reliance acquired companies such as Balaji Telefilms (TV content), EdCast (learning enabler), Embibe (edtech content), Saavn (music content), Radsys (5G architecture), Eros (TV content), Hathway (broadband), DEN (cable), Haptik (customer engagement), Reverie (language processing), Fynd (online shopping), Purple Panda Fashions, Clovia (intimate wear), Tesseract (AR/VR), and Grab (logistics).
Reliance Retail operates around 14,412+ stores, as of December 2021. The company recently posted a profit of $720.05 million (INR 5481 crore) in FY21 on revenue that was recorded at $20.62 billion (INR 1.57 lakh crore).
The companies acquired by Reliance are working on various technologies: artificial intelligence (AI), internet of things (IoT), blockchain, online multiplayer gaming, multi-party videoconferencing, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR). These acquisitions are an extension of RIL’s ambitions.
Reliance Industry Acquisitions
Embibe
Fynd
Grab
Haptik
Reverie
Saavn
Purple Panda Fashions (Clovia)
Tesseract
Den Networks and Hathway Cable & Datacom Ltd.
Hamleys
Netmeds
Asteria Aerospace
NowFloats Technologies
Radisys
Balaji Telefilms and Eros International
Urban Ladder
JustDial
Milkbasket
Zivame
Portico
Dunzo
Shri Kannan Departmental Store
Jaisuryas
Kalanikethan
Abraham & Thakore
Ritu Kumar
Manish Malhotra
AK-OK
Genesis Colors
Future101 Design
Addverb Technologies
Portico
Amante
Rahul Mishra
Lithium Werks
Embibe
| Startup Name | Embibe |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 2012 |
| Founders | Aditi Avasthi |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | 73% |
In April 2018, Reliance Industries invested $180 million in the edtech startup Embibe over a period of three years. The investment helped acquire a stake of 72.69 % from Embibe's existing investors. In April 2020, Bengaluru-based startup Embibe received a funding of INR 500 crores from Reliance Industries.
Embibe is an education platform that uses data analytics to deliver personalized learning outcomes for students. It targets various segments like K-12, higher education, professional skilling, vernacular languages, and all curriculum categories in India and abroad. Embibe uses AI stacks that focus on content intelligence and automation, behavioral recommendations, and student intelligence.
Aditi Avasthi, the founder and CEO of Embibe, continues to lead the company post acquisition and may operate it as an independent entity as well. With Embibe’s technology, Reliance aims to connect with over 1.9 million schools and 58,000 universities across India. It believes that Embibe’s highly experienced management team will help Reliance realize its vision for the education sector.
Fynd
| Startup Name | Fynd |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 2012 |
| Founders | Farooq Adam, Harsh Shah and Sreeraman MG |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | 87.6% |
Fynd, the fashion ecommerce platform, was founded in 2012 by Farooq Adam, Harsh Shah, and Sreeraman MG. Fynd functions via an offline-to-online (O2O) model and directly sources products belonging to categories such as clothing, footwear, jewellery, and accessories from prominent brands to sell them in India. Fynd sources products from the outlets nearest to the customer to optimize delivery time. It has about 8,000 outlets on board for about 500 clients.
Reliance's latest acquisition, Fynd, has an in-house product called the ‘Fynd Store’; store managers place order on behalf of the walk-ins in case the desired product is not stocked or not available in the right size in the store. RIL acquired a majority stake (87.6%) in Shopsense Retail Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (which manages Fynd) for INR 295.25 crores ($41.9 million).
RIL also has an option to further invest INR 100 crores in Shopsense Retail Technologies by December 2021. The total investment will translate into an 87.6% stake in Fynd. The investment would strengthen the group’s 'digital and new commerce initiatives'. Reliance has been bolstering investments and acquisitions in the tech and internet space as it prepares to launch e-commerce services by leveraging Reliance Jio Infocomm's reach.
Grab
| Startup Name | Grab |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 2012 |
| Founders | Anthony Tan and Tan Hooi Ling |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | 83% |
In February 2019, RIL’s wholly-owned subsidiary Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Limited (RIIHL) acquired equity shares of Grab A Grub Services Private Limited (Grab) in a cash deal worth $14.9 million. At a later stage, the company will also invest up to $5.63 million (INR 40 crores) to complete the acquisition deal by March 2021.
With this investment, RIL will control 83% equity of Grab on a fully diluted basis. The investment will support Reliance Group’s digital commerce initiatives and strengthen its logistics services, catering to both B2B (business-to-business) and B2C (business-to-consumer) segments. The deal would help the company boost its e-commerce model to take on Amazon India and Flipkart.
Grab was founded in 2013 by Jignesh Patel, Nishant Vora, and Pratish Sanghvi. Grab provides services like on-demand deliveries, reverse deliveries, first mile, and last mile logistics. Some of its clients include McDonalds, BigBasket, Myntra, Amazon Now, and Swiggy. Grab was backed by investors such as SIDBI Venture Capital Arm, SIDBI Venture Capital Limited (SVCL) Aramex, Zomato, and Sixth Sense Ventures.
Haptik
| Startup Name | Haptik |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 2013 |
| Founders | Aakrit Vaish and Swapan Rajdev |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | 87% |
On April 3, 2019, RIL announced that Reliance Jio Digital Services Limited acquired artificial intelligence (AI) firm Haptik for INR 700 crores (with INR 230 crores as the consideration for the initial business transfer) to compete against Google Assistant and Amazon's Alexa. Thus, Reliance will hold about 87% of the business with the rest being held by Haptik founders and employees through stock option grants.
Founded in 2013, Haptik is one of the world's largest conversational AI platforms that lets customers coordinate with voice assistants to complete tasks related to online shopping, travel bookings, food delivery, and more. The company has worked with over 50 brands which include Samsung, Coca-Cola, Future Retail, KFC, Tata Group, Oyo Rooms, and the Mahindra Group. Haptik established its presence in the US in 2018 and in the UK in 2019.
With this startup acquisition, Reliance Jio is looking to leverage Haptik’s capabilities across various devices and touch-points in the consumer’s journey. Reliance said that the investment is an aid in the enhancement and expansion of Haptik's platform with an addressable market opportunity of over 1 billion users in India.
Reverie
| Startup Name | Reverie |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 2009 |
| Founders | Arvind Pani, Sachindra K Mohanty, Vivekananda Pani |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | 83.3% |
In April 2019, RIL acquired a majority stake in Reverie for INR 190 crores ($27.3 million). It will invest another INR 77 crores (almost $10 million) by March 2021. As part of the acquisition, Reliance will hold 83.3 % equity capital in Reverie on a fully diluted basis with the total investment of INR 267 crores likely to be completed by March 2021.
Reverie provides a voice suite (called Gopal) in 12 Indian languages like Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Indian English, etc. which can be integrated with both chatbots and interactive voice response (IVR) solutions. Companies can then use the resulting solution to engage with non-English speaking customers.
Reverie will work towards the integration of its Indic language localization services with RIL’s digital consumer platforms. It will continue to operate independently and serve its existing clients.
Varad Kitey
Saavn
| Startup Name | Saavn |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 2007 |
| Founders | Rishi Malhotra, Vinodh Bhat and Paramdeep Singh |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | 75%-80% |
On March 23, 2018, RIL announced a strategic merger of its digital music service JioMusic with 'music over-the-top platform' Saavn. RIL acquired a 75-80 % stake in the merged entity. The company said that the combined entity is valued at over $1 billion with JioMusic’s implied valuation at $670 million and Saavn at $330 million.
RIL stated that the integrated business will be developed into a media platform of the future with global reach, cross-border original content, an independent artist marketplace, consolidated data, and one of the largest mobile advertising mediums in India.
"The investment and combination of our music assets with Saavn underlines our commitment to further boost the digital ecosystem and provide unlimited digital entertainment services to consumers over a strong uninterrupted network," Ambani said while announcing the strategic transaction.
JioSaavn has over 200 employees and operates out of offices in California, New York, Bangalore, Gurgaon, and Mumbai. It offers about 40 million soundtracks in 15 languages and has over 900 label partnerships. Some of the partners are Universal, Sony, T-Series, Tips, YRF, Saregama, Eros, and Warner Music.
Purple Panda Fashions (Clovia)
| Startup Name | Purple Panda Fashions (Clovia) |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 2013 |
| Founders | Pankaj Vermani, Neha Kant and Suman Choudhary |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | 89% |
Started by Pankaj Vermani, Neha Kant, and Suman Choudhary in 2013, Purple Panda Fashions is the manufacturer and online retailer of lingerie with its flagship brand Clovia. Clovia, under Purple Panda Fashions, offers a wide range of quality innerwear and loungewear for women, with its categories spanning over 3500+ product styles.
The largest retailer of India, Reliance Retail Ventures, as updated on March 21, 2022, has acquired 89% of the stakes in Clovia for which it has reportedly spent INR 950 crore. The deal will be a combination of primary investment and secondary stake purchase, the remaining stakes of which will be owned by the founding team and management of Clovia. This partnership with Clovia is expected to further strengthen the innerwear arm of Reliance.
Tesseract
| Startup Name | Tesseract |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 2015 |
| Founders | Kshitij Marwah |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | 92.7% |
In August 2019, Reliance acquired a stake of 92.7% stakes in Tesseract. Post the deal, the stake would be valued between INR 150 crores and INR 500 crores, a source added. Reliance also announced its mixed reality (MR) platform Holoboard, which combines augmented reality and virtual reality. Holoboard would be the first made-in-India AR headset and will be compatible with smartphones. Interestingly, the device is developed by Tesseract.
Tesseract is a Mumbai-based VR startup founded in 2015 by Kshitij Marwah. Tesseract has launched three hardware and two software products in the MR, AR, and VR spaces. The founder claims to have seven patents: one US-registered, three international, and three India-registered patents.
Post-acquisition, Tesseract developed the Jio HoloBoard as a native mixed reality headset for JioFiber users. While specifics about the Jio HoloBoard are yet to be revealed, Reliance Jio plans to make the headset available for purchase in the market at an extremely affordable price.
Den Networks and Hathway Cable & Datacom Ltd.
| Startup Name | Den Networks and Hathway Cable & Datacom Ltd. |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 2007 and 1959 respectively |
| Founders | Sameer Manchanda (Den Networks), Pheroza Billimoria & Roopesh Rao (Hathway Cable and Datacom) |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | 66% and 51.3% respectively |
Reliance Jio bought a majority stake in Den Networks, Hathway Cable, and Datacom in October 2018. Jio acquired a 66% stake in Den Networks with a primary investment of INR 2,045 crores and a 51.3% stake in Hathway Cable & Datacom Ltd. with an initial investment of INR 2,940 crores.
DEN claims to have the ability to reach 9.7 lakh homes and has more than 106,000 broadband subscribers. Hathway Cable is owned by the Raheja Group while Sameer Manchanda owns DEN Networks. They both are amongst the biggest players in the cable broadband market.
The investments were meant to boost the rollout of Jio GigaFiber which is in the testing phase at the moment. It is a competitor to Bharti Airtel, BSNL, and other broadband providers in India. Reliance Jio also has the wireless infrastructure assets of RCom to consolidate its telecom presence.
Hamleys
| Startup Name | Hamleys |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 1760 |
| Founders | William Hamley |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | 100% |
Reliance Industries completed the acquisition of British toy retailer Hamleys for about INR 620 crores (GBP 67.96 million) in an all-cash deal in July 2019 when Reliance Brands signed an agreement to acquire a 100% stake in Hamleys Global Holdings from Hong Kong-based C.banner International.
RIL stated that Reliance Brands completed the acquisition of a 100 % stake of Hamleys Global Holdings (HGHL) through a special purpose vehicle company set up in the United Kingdom. This acquisition will help Reliance Brands become a dominant player in the global toy retail industry.
Hamleys was founded by William Hamley in London in 1760. It is one of the world's oldest retailers of toys and has changed hands several times. Hamleys has 167 stores across 18 countries. In India, Reliance Retail had the master franchise for the brand and operated 88 stores across 29 cities.
Netmeds
| Startup Name | Netmeds |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 2015 |
| Founders | Pradeep Dadha |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | - |
On August 19, 2020, Reliance Industries Ltd. has acquired a majority stake in online pharmacy Netmeds for about $83 million (INR. 620 crores) in cash, days after e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc launched an online drug sales service in India.
The investment represents 60% holding in the equity share capital of Vitalic Health and 100% direct equity ownership of its subsidiaries: Tresara Health Private Limited, Netmeds Market Place Limited, and Dadha Pharma Distribution Pvt. Limited.
According to Reliance, Netmeds would enhance Reliance Retail’s ability to provide affordable and extensive health care products and services.
"This investment is aligned with our commitment to provide digital access for everyone in India," said Isha Ambani, Director, RRVL
Lakshya Singh
Netmeds is one of the top online pharmacies in India that deals with a wide range of healthcare products like high-quality prescription medicines, over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, general health care products, Ayurvedic medicines, and homeopathic medicines. It has delivery facilities across India. It is a subsidiary of Dadha & Company, one of India’s most trusted pharmacy brands with over 100 years of experience in dispensing quality medicines. Pradeep Dadha founded the company in 2010 and it is headquartered at Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
Asteria Aerospace
| Startup Name | Asteria Aerospace |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 2011 |
| Founders | Neel Mehta and Nihar Vartak |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | 51.78% |
In December of 2019, RIL-owned subsidiary Reliance Strategic Business Ventures Ltd (RSBVL) acquired a 51.78% stake in robotics and artificial intelligence company Asteria Aerospace Pvt. Ltd. for INR 23.12 crores. Asteria develops drone-based solutions to provide intelligence from aerial data for military use and industrial applications.
NowFloats Technologies
| Startup Name | NowFloats Technologies |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 2012 |
| Founders | Jasminder Singh Gulati |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | 85% |
In December 2019, RSBVL also acquired an 85% stake in NowFloats Technologies Pvt. Ltd. for INR 141.63 crores with a proposal to make further investments of up to INR 75 crores. Nowfloats offers SaaS solutions to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for building a digital presence. The investment will further enable Reliance group's digital and new commerce initiatives.
Radisys
| Startup Name | Radisys |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 1987 |
| Founders | Glenford Myers |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | 100% |
RIL also acquired open telecom solution provider Radisys in June 2020 for $74 million (INR 511 crores). The deal majorly focused on enhancing Reliance Jio's presence in the areas of 5G, Internet of Things (IoT), and open source architecture adoption.
In addition to these acquisitions, RIL specifically made deals to amplify the occupancy of Reliance Jio by acquiring software companies namely Surajya Services (EasyGov) and SankhyaSutra. Surajya Services (EasyGov) is a data solution company that is known for its EasyGov online portal which details government schemes and services to citizens. SankhyaSutra Labs offers high-performance computing software simulation services.
Lakshya Singh
Balaji Telefilms and Eros International
| Startup Name | Balaji Telefilms and Eros International |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 1994 and 2017 |
| Founders | Ekta Kapoor, Jeetendra (AltBalaji) ; Kishore Lulla (Eros International) |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | 24.9% (Balaji Telefilms) ; 5% (Eros) |
RIL also invested in the entertainment industry. It acquired a 24.9% stake in film and television production house Balaji Telefilms Ltd., the parent company of ALTBalaji, in a deal worth INR 413.28 crores. The stake purchase will give Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. access to the content generated by Balaji Telefilms. RIL also acquired a 5% stake in the film entertainment company Eros International for $48.75 million. Given the massive demand for online video content, a stake in Eros International and ALTBalaji would allow Jio to entice customers who are in dire need of high speed internet on smartphones.
Urban Ladder
| Startup Name | Urban Ladder |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 2012 |
| Founders | Ashish Goel, Rajiv Srivatsa |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | 96% |
Reliance Retail bought a 96% stake in Urban Ladder for over INR 182 crore in November 2020. The omnichannel furniture and decor retailer is based out of Bengaluru, has more than 3 stores in Bangalore, and boasts of distributing its products across 75+ cities.
JustDial
| Startup Name | JustDial |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 1996 |
| Founders | V.S.S. Mani |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | 40.95% |
JustDial is a local search services platform, one of the oldest and an iconic player in the Indian local search services space. Just Dial boasts of having more than 30 million enterprise listings across web, app and voice platforms.
The RIL arm, Reliance Retail Ventures, acquired 40.95% stakes in Just Dial on June 17, 2021, in an all-cash deal worth INR 5,710 crore. According to the reports of the deal, Reliance subscribed to the preferential shares and bought some shares from its main promoter, VSS Mani, and his family for INR 3,497 crore. The acquisition of Just Dial did not only dwarf Reliance's other acquisitions, such as its Netmeds and that of Hamleys, but is still standing as one of the largest acquisitions that the country has seen so far.
Milkbasket
| Startup Name | Milkbasket |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 2015 |
| Founders | Anant Goel, Ashish Goel, Anurag Jain, and Yatish Talvadia |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | 96.49% |
India's first subscription-based micro-delivery service Milkbasket was founded in 2015 by Anant Goel, Ashish Goel, Anurag Jain, and Yatish Talvadia. The delivery service platform was founded with an aim to deliver daily grocery, milk, and other everyday essentials.
Reliance Retail Ventures acquired Milkbasket by acquiring 96.49% stakes in the company, announced Milkbasket while announcing its Q2 FY22 financial results. The deal is pegged at $40 Mn, as per the reports dated October 23, 2021.
Zivame
| Startup Name | Zivame |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 2011 |
| Founders | Richa Kar |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | 15% |
The subsidiary of Reliance Industries, Reliance Brands has bought 15% stakes in Zivame, the most trusted store for women's undergarments. Reliance had acquired a minority stake in the leading online lingerie brand in July 2020 and had also mentioned that it would buy out Zivame sometime soon and could also pay close to INR 1,200 to materialise the deal.
Portico
| Startup Name | Portico |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 2005 |
| Founders | - |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | - |
Owned by Creative Group, Portico is a home fashion brand that is fast emerging. Reliance acquired a minority stake in Portico and has approached the same for a majority stake in the same, as per the reports dated July 2021.
Dunzo
| Startup Name | Dunzo |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 2014 |
| Founders | Kabeer Biswas, Ankur Agarwal, Dalvir Suri, Mukund Jha |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | 25% |
Dunzo is a popular delivery service platform from Bangalore. Founded in July 2014 by Kabeer Biswas, Ankur Agarwal, Dalvir Suri, Mukund Jha, Dunzo is 24x7 operating app that operates in 8+ Indian cities.
Reliance Retail has acquired 25.8% stakes in Dunzo on January 6, 2022, in a deal where Dunzo raised $240 mn worth of funds from the mammoth conglomerate.
Shri Kannan Departmental Store
| Startup Name | |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 1985 |
| Founders | T Thanushgaran |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | 100% |
Shri Kannan Departmental Store is a 20+ years old company that primarily retailed fruits and vegetables, dairy products, and other essentials and operates 29+ stores near Coimbatore and all the nearby areas. Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd. has acquired this retail brand by acquiring 100% stakes in the firm for an amount of INR 152.5 crore.
Jaisuryas
| Startup Name | Jaisuryas |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 1989 |
| Founders | Shivaji Siddharth |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | - |
Jaisuryas is a leading regional grocery chain that operates in the Southern part of India. Reliance Industries acquired Jaisuryas in an undisclosed deal.
Kalanikethan
| Startup Name | Kalanikethan |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 1976 |
| Founders | Shri V. Venkateswara Rao and Mitul Parekh |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | - |
Kalanikethan is a leading retailer of sarees and ethnic wear that operates in many cities of South India. Kalanikethan is another startup that currently stands acquired by Reliance to fill up the gaps in some of the smaller markets in the south of the country.
Abraham & Thakore
| Startup Name | Abraham & Thakore |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 1992 |
| Founders | David Abraham, Rakesh Thakore and Kevin Nigli |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | - |
David Abraham and Rakesh Thakore launched Abraham & Thakore in 1992, who were soon joined by Kevin Nigli. Abraham & Thakore is rooted in the fashion industry, which believes in making weaving and design unconventional and appealing to the mass!
Reliance Retail Ventures had acquired a majority stake in Abraham & Thakore on March 2, 2022.
Ritu Kumar
| Startup Name | Ritu Kumar |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 2002 |
| Founders | Ritu Kumar |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | 52% |
Reliance Industries had already acquired Manish Malhotra, after which it acquires Ritu Kumar, which is another major acquisition in the fashion industry. The MNC conglomerate giant owned a whopping 52% stake in Ritika Pvt Ltd., the parent of Ritu Kumar, Label Ritu Kumar, RI Ritu Kumar, aarké, and Ritu Kumar Home and Living, which is India's oldest fashion house on October 15, 2021.
Manish Malhotra
| Startup Name | Manish Malhotra |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 2005 |
| Founders | Manish Malhotra |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | 40% |
Manish Malhotra, the eponymous brand of the celebrated Indian fashion designer, couturier, costume stylist, entrepreneur, filmmaker, revivalist based in Mumbai, India, is a rage in the Indian fashion market as well. The Manish Malhotra brand, which has been led by none other than Manish Malhotra, has been acquired by Reliance Brands, which is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, where the Mukesh Ambani-led brand picked up 40% of stakes, as per reports dated October 16, 2021.
AK-OK
| Startup Name | AK-OK |
|---|---|
| Founded in | - |
| Founders | Anamika Khanna |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | 60% |
Anamika Khanna is a famous Indian couturier, who has successfully blended traditional Indian textiles and techniques with Western silhouette and tailoring. The celebrity Indian fashion designer runs her eponymous brand AK-OK, a majority stake (60%) of which has been acquired by Reliance Brands in December 2021, which is believed to be 60:40 joint venture.
Genesis Colors
| Startup Name | Genesis Colors |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 1998 |
| Founders | Sanjay Kapoor, Jyoti Narula and Puneet Nanda |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | 29.07% |
Reliance acquired 16.31% worth of stakes in Genesis Colors. Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL), a subsidiary of Reliance has materialised the deal for INR 34.80 crore on September 10, 2018. The Mukesh-Ambani-led company further acquired 9.44% stakes in the same company on February 8, 2019. Reliance has stood as an owner of 29.07% stakes of the Genesis Colors, the holding company of reputed Indian fashion brands – Satya Paul and Bwitch.
Future101 Design
| Startup Name | Future101 Design |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 2013 |
| Founders | Satinder Singh Kataria |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | 15% |
Around the same time when Reliance extended its stakes in Genesis Colors, the company also acquired an additional 2.5% stake in Future101, thereby becoming an owner of 15% of the company's stakes on February 8, 2019. The Gurgaon-based fashion brand designs and manufactures apparel including hand-crafted breeches, suits, jackets, skirts, pants, sarees, and more.
Addverb Technologies
| Startup Name | Addverb Technologies |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 2016 |
| Founders | Sangeet Kumar, Prateek Jain, Bir Singh, Satish Kumar Shukla and Amit Kumar |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | 55% |
Addverb Technologies is a robotics firm founded in June 2016 by Sangeet Kumar, Prateek Jain, Bir Singh, Satish Kumar Shukla, and Amit Kumar, which offers products 4 verticals — robotics, automated storage, and retrieval systems, picking, and software. Reliance acquired majority stakes (55%) in Addverb Technologies in January 2022 for $132 mn.
Portico
| Startup Name | Portico |
|---|---|
| Founded in | - |
| Founders | Arun Bhawsingka |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | 37.7% |
Reliance has picked up a minority stake in Portico and has already announced buying a majority stake (37.7% stake) in the home fashion brand, as of the reports dated July 6, 2021.
Amante
| Startup Name | Amante |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 2007 |
| Founders | Ajay Amalean |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | 100% |
Reliance has announced acquiring 100% stakes in the Amante brand from MAS, as per the joint statement issued by the two companies. Founded in October 2007, Amante is a part of MAS Brands, a subsidiary of MAS Holdings.
Rahul Mishra
| Startup Name | Rahul Mishra |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 2005 |
| Founders | Rahul Mishra |
| Stakes Owned by Reliance | 60% |
Rahul Mishra is an Indian designer, famously hailed as the first Indian designer to showcase at Paris Haute Couture week. Reliance has formed a partnership with Rahul Mishra on January 31, 2022, which is aimed to be a 60:40 joint venture with the designer's firm. Reliance Brands Limited, a subsidiary of Reliance currently owns 60% stakes in Rahul Mishra's company.
Lithium Werks
| Startup Name | Lithium Werks |
|---|---|
| Founded in | 2017 |
| Founders | T. Joseph Fisher III, Christian F. P. Ringvold |
| Stakes Owned By Reliance | 100% |
All of Lithium Werks' assets were acquired by Reliance New Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of RIL, in a deal that is valued at $61 million, as per the reports dated March 16, 2022.
Lithium Werks is a cobalt-free lithium technology and manufacturing company. The Texas headquartered company is a well-known producer of cobalt-free and high-performance lithium iron phosphate batteries. The assets that Reliance has acquired include an annual production capacity of around 200 MWh, including coating, cell and custom module manufacturing capability, 219 patents that also have the exclusive rights of superior LFP nano-technology, cell design, proprietary carbo-thermal reduction manufacturing method, and many other cutting-edge electroactive materials. This acquisition further inches Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani close to his dream of building the largest renewable energy ecosystem in India. Ambani has reportedly committed to investing close to $10 billion in sustainable energy initiatives throughout a period of 3 years.
Conclusion
Reliance Jio and other Reliance Industries' subsidiaries are likely to continue the acquisition trend to retain leadership in the market. But the results of the acquisitions are yet to be realized from an end user's perspective.
Source :- https://startuptalky.com/ Author :- Varad Kitey Date :-March 22, 2022 at 12:47PM