Ambani-run Reliance Retail completes $6.4bn fundraising spree

India's top retailer expands its war chest to compete with Amazon and Flipkart

A Reliance store in Mumbai. The parent company of Reliance Retail has sold a 10.09% stake in the unit as it gears up for a protracted fight for a bigger slice of India's e-commerce market. © Reuters

ROSEMARY MARANDI, Contributing writer

November 20, 2020 16:33 JST

MUMBAI -- Reliance Industries raised 472.6 billion rupees ($6.4 billion) for its retail arm Reliance Retail Ventures by selling a 10.1% stake to a coterie of global investors that has allowed Chairman Mukesh Ambani, India's richest man, to reload his arsenal for a battle with American billionaire Jeff Bezos of Amazon fame.

The sale brought in investors like Silver Lake Partners, KKR, General Atlantic and TPG from the U.S.; Mubadala Investment and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority from the United Arab Emirates; and the sovereign wealth Public Investment Fund from Saudi Arabia.