Reliance Denies Plans to Sell $20-Billion Retail Arm Stake to Rival Amazon

A Bloomberg report on Thursday said Reliance had offered Amazon a 40-percent stake in its retail subsidiary RRVL.

By Agence France-Presse | Updated: 11 September 2020 12:03 IST

Bloomberg reported that Reliance, owned by Mukesh Ambani, had offered Amazon a 40 percent stake in RRVL

Highlights

Reliance last month announced its acquisition Future Group
It's been fighting Amazon & Flipkart for share of India's online market
Reliance established its digital platform JioMart in May

Indian conglomerate Reliance denied a report Thursday that it was planning to sell a $20-billion (roughly Rs. 1,46,959 crores) stake in its retail business to US rival Amazon in a deal that could upend the country's hugely lucrative e-commerce sector.

The report published by Bloomberg on Thursday said that Reliance, owned by Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani, had offered Amazon a 40 percent stake in its retail subsidiary RRVL, citing an unidentified person with knowledge of the matter.

The deal, which would have been the largest for India and for the Silicon Valley behemoth according to Bloomberg data, would have shaken up the South Asian nation's retail sector, transforming the relationship between two firms that have spent months locked in frenzied competition.

Reliance Offers Amazon $20 Billion Stake in Retail Arm: Report

But a source at the Indian oil-to-telecoms giant disputed the report, which sent Reliance shares up by more than seven percent in Mumbai, calling it "inREFcorrect".

"It makes no sense for both the parties to establish partnerships or collaborations," the source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

An Amazon spokeswoman declined to comment on the report.

Middle East Funds Eye Stakes in Reliance Retail: Report

Reliance has been fighting Amazon and Walmart-backed Flipkart for a share of India's online market, establishing its digital platform Jio Mart in May.

After spending years battling local mom-and-pop shops for customers, the retail giants are now trying to work hand-in-hand with the smaller stores that dominate India's towns and hinterlands to bring them online.

Reliance last month announced its acquisition of the retail, wholesale and logistics businesses of India's Future Group, which owns some of the country's best-known supermarket brands, adding around 1,800 stores to its portfolio.

Reliance Seen Emerging as Bigger Threat for US Firms Like Amazon, Walmart

Future Group's founder Kishore Biyani, was once known as India's retail king, but has struggled in recent years, with the coronavirus pandemic dealing a heavy blow to his empire.

Reliance Retail to Receive $1-Billion Investment From Silver Lake Partners

Is Android One holding back Nokia smartphones in India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.