
Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), is reportedly in talks to buy a stake in Mukesh Ambani-helmed Reliance Industries’ retail unit, Reliance Retail Ventures. This comes as Gulf funds are increasing their bets on the Indian market that is growing at a fast pace.
According to a report in Financial Times, QIA is considering picking a minority stake in Reliance Retail Ventures. The report that cited sources in the know, added that the investment will be likely to the tune of $1 billion, amounting to a stake of 1 per cent. This values the business at $100 billion.
The agreement is yet to be finalised and the deal is subject to change, stated the report, adding that the Qatari fund has yet not approved the deal.
Reliance Retail is expanding its consumer businesses from luxury fashion to groceries. The retail business that is heavily spending on its expansion, is led by Mukesh Ambani’s daughter, Isha Ambani. The retail business has recently acquired a host of brands to expand its offerings.
Reliance Retail, in 2020, saw investments of $1.3 billion by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund for a stake of 2.04 per cent. The company was then valued at $62.4 billion, the report added. KKR and two Abu Dhabi sovereign investment funds also are among the company’s shareholders.
Meanwhile, Reliance Retail recorded a 19 per cent jump in its net profit for the April-June quarter. For the quarter, its net profit stood at Rs 2,448 crore, up 19 per cent from Rs 2,061 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago. RIL owns RRL through its group company Reliance Retail Ventures (RRVL).
RRL’s revenue from operations grew 20.5 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 62,159 crore. While earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) from operations rose 25.6 per cent to Rs 4,896 crore from Rs 3,897 crore in the April-June 2022 quarter, improving its EBITDA margin by 30 basis points yoy to 7.9 per cent.
Also read: Reliance Retail Q1 results: Net profit jumps 19% to Rs 2,448 cr
Also read: Reliance Industries’ consumer businesses cushions the conglomerate’s overall numbers