Google, a technology company, is reportedly planning to approach the CCI (Competition Commission of India) to seek approval for its investment in Jio Platforms.
The tech giant is eyeing an investment of around $4.5 billion (₹33,737 crore) to obtain a 7.73% stake in Jio. Sources familiar with the matter have stated that Google will approach the CCI in the next 2 weeks. Google and Reliance Jio did not respond to requests for comments on this investment plan.
The deal was recently announced at the AGM (annual general meeting) of Reliance Industries. It will see the collaboration of the two companies on technology initiatives, which include the development of affordable smartphones.
Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, has joined Facebook, which previously gained a 9.99% stake for $5.8 billion (₹43,573.62 crore) in Jio. Reliance had sold its 32.8% stake in Jio to 13 investors or firms, including chipmaker Intel and Qualcomm, for nearly ₹1.52 lakh crore ($20.3 billion).
Jio Platforms has been offering a wide range of services such as music streaming as well as online retail & payments. The company is likely to leverage its 388 million subscribers to drive the e-Commerce and digital services business. Jio and Google are collaborating to build an operating system for affordable 4G as well as 5G smartphones. In addition, JioMart, an online grocery delivery service, and WhatsApp will be partnering closely to enable a seamless transaction for customers at the mom-and-pop stores.
According to Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, the recent investment plan in Jio will enable the company to have a greater impact on the surging digital transformation in India. The $4.5 billion investment will be the largest deal signed from its recently announced fund of $10 billion (₹75,000 crore).
On 13th July, Google announced the ‘Google for India Digitization Fund’ to accelerate the digital economy in India over the next 5 to 7 years.
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