Reliance Jio’s proposed deal with Facebook has received regulatory approval from India’s antitrust regulator. In a tweet earlier today, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said it “approves acquisition of 9.99% stake in Jio Platforms by Jaadhu Holdings LLC”. Back in April, Facebook had agreed to buy a 9.99% stake in Jio Platforms for Rs. 43,574 crores (~$5.7 billion).
Jaadhu Holdings, in case you’re wondering, is a newly-incorporated company formed in March 2020 in the US state of Delaware. It is the new investment vehicle through which Facebook will be picking up its stake in Jio Platforms. In an earlier submission to the CCI, Jaadhu Holdings said that it is not engaged in any business in India or elsewhere.
It is worth noting that there has been some consternation about Facebook’s investment in Jio among activists in India. Recent reports suggested that the US tech giant was unsure about whether the deal will eventually get regulatory approval. In fact, the company is said to have been in talks with all the Big Four consultancy firms – PwC, E&Y, KPMG and Deloitte – to advise it on the matter.
Either way, now that the deal has received a green-signal, Reliance will be heaving a sigh of relief. The company will also hope that its other proposed investments will also get the go-ahead sooner rather than later. The total valuation of all those investments stand at Rs. 1,15,693.95 crore (around $15.2 billion) which, the company says will help eliminate part of its Rs. 1.62 lakh crores (around $21.4 billion) debt by the end of this year.
