Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries set to buy stake in Future Group companies: report

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries is close to finalising a deal with Kishore Biyani's Future Group for buying stake in some group companies of the latter. An announcement in this regard is expected to come next month, Bloomberg reported while quoting sources in the know.

The deal is expected to provide a leg-up to Reliance Industries' e-commerce ambition. The oil-to-telecom conglomerate recently took its retail arm, Reliance Retail online. Although Future Retail has buyers waiting, including Amazon, a bid from Reliance Industries to buy stake in the holding company could generate favourable results for it.

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The Future Group has five main listed units including Future Consumer, which deals in food, home and personal care products, and Future Lifestyle Fashions that operates fashion discount chain Brand Factory. No final decision has been made and the talks could still get delayed or fail to result in a transaction, the report said.

Meanwhile, Amazon will retain its 1.3 per cent indirect stake in Future Group that it acquired after purchasing 49 per cent stake in Future Coupons.

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Proceeds from a deal with Reliance will help Kishore Biyani pare Future Group's debt. Presently, the most valuable company in India is flush with funds after raising Rs 115,693.95 crore via 11 significant stake sale deals in 9 weeks. The list of investors includes Facebook, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, KKR, Mubadala, ADIA, TPG and L Catterton.

On Thursday, Saudi Arabia-based Public Investment Fund, one of the world's largest and most impactful sovereign wealth funds, committed Rs 11,367 crore for a 2.32 per cent equity stake in Mukesh Ambani's Jio Platforms Limited on a fully diluted basis. The investment values Jio Platforms at an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore.

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