#Qatar Wealth Fund Invests $1 Billion in Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail Ventures - Bloomberg

Qatar Wealth Fund Invests $1 Billion in Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail Ventures - Bloomberg

Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund invested 82.78 billion rupees ($1 billion) into India’s biggest brick-and-mortar retailer as Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani looks to rapidly expand its operations and take on global competitors including Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart Inc.

The Qatar Investment Authority’s purchase translates into a stake of 0.99% in Ambani’s Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd. “on a fully-diluted basis,” the Mumbai-based firm said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that it values the company at $100 billion.

The deal comes as Ambani’s conglomerate is also considering a public listing for Reliance Retail and has started buying back shares in the unit and giving them to their employees as stock options. The subsidiary headed by Ambani’s daughter, Isha, has undertaken a swath of acquisitions as it challenges global rivals who are trying hard to establish a toe hold in India’s highly competitive retail sector dominated by mom-and-pop stores.

Isha Ambani called the QIA’s investment “a strong endorsement” of India’s economy and Reliance’s retail business.