Silver Lake Increases Stake In Indian Telecom Jio Platforms

Silver Lake has upped its ante on India’s Jio Platforms. The Menlo Park, California-based private equity firm said Friday (June 5) it will buy an additional stake worth $600 million in the Indian telecom operator, TechCrunch reported.

One month ago, as reported here, Silver Lake invested $750 million in the fast-growing company. This new infusion of cash increases its stake in the Indian firm to 2.08 percent, up from 1.15 percent, according to the report.

Also on Friday, PYMNTS reported Mubadala Investment Co., an arm of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) government, is investing $1.2 billion in Jio Platforms.

So far, the telecommunications giant has raised more than $12 billion in less than two months.

Jio Platforms, which has more than 388 million subscribers since 2016, has attracted foreign investors looking for a piece of the one of the world’s largest internet markets, the report said.

The latest deal with Silver Lake, a technology investor with more than $43 billion in combined assets under management,

comes on the heels of investments by Facebook, which got a 10 percent stake for $5.7 billion, and private equity groups KKR, Vista Equity Partners and General Atlantic.

The recent investment “validates a compelling business model and underscores our admiration for Jio owner Mukesh Ambani, his team and their vision in creating and building one of the world’s most remarkable technology companies,” Silver Lake Co-CEO and Managing Partner Egon Durban said, according to the report. “We are excited to increase our exposure and bring more of our co-investors into this opportunity, further supporting Jio Platforms in its mission to bring the power of high-quality and affordable digital services to a mass consumer and small businesses population.”

Ambani is selling stakes in the company to trim $21 billion in debt, a promise he made to shareholders earlier, TechCrunch reported. The company was debt-free in 2012, but took loans to bankroll the creation of Jio Platforms.

Silver Lake’s additional investment, Ambani said, “is a strong endorsement of the intrinsic resilience of the Indian economy, which will surely grow bigger with comprehensive digital enablement.”