Some of the investors in Reliance Jio may look for an exit, said research and brokerage firm Bernstein. In 2020, global investors pumped in $20 billion for a 33 per cent stake. This includes strategic investors (Meta and Google) receiving 18 per cent stake, while private equity investors like Vista, KKR, Silverlake, PIF, etc. investing for a cumulative 15 per cent stake.
“As typical PE holding period being nearly 4 years, we expect some investors to look for an exit (more details likely in AGM in June/July),” Berstein said in a research report.
| Investor | Investment ($ billion) | stake (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 5.7 | 9.99 | |
| 4.5 | 7.73 | |
| Vista Equity Partners | 1.5 | 2.32 |
| KKR | 1.5 | 2.32 |
| PIF | 1.5 | 2.32 |
| Silver Lake | 1.4 | 2.08 |
| Mubadala | 1.2 | 1.85 |
| General Atlantic | 0.9 | 1.34 |
| ADIA | 0.8 | 1.16 |
| TPG | 0.6 | 0.93 |
| L Catterton | 0.3 | 0.39 |
| Intel | 0.3 | 0.39 |
| Qualcomm | 0.1 | 0.15 |
| Total | 20 | 33 |
*Source: Company reports, Bernstein analysis
While the exact timing of the exit is not known, Reliance has been looking to list its telecom and digital business on the stock exchange. The investors could time their exit accordingly.
Meanwhile, Jio’s subscriber share had increased to 43.6 per cent in Q3 FY23, while Bharti Airtel’s share increased to 33.4 per cent last quarter. On the other hand, Vodafone-Idea’s subscriber share came down to 23 per cent.