Facebook is said to be near deal to buy a multibillion-dollar stake in Reliance Jio

Reliance Jio is the largest mobile network operator in India and the third largest mobile network operator in the world with over 370.07 million subscribers. Thanks to its aggressive pricing strategy, Jio reached this top position in just 3 years after its launch. Recently, Jio also announced a fiber to the home service, offering home broadband, television, and telephone services. In order to reduce its debt pile, Reliance was planning to sell Jio’s stake.

Today, FT reported that Facebook is planning to buy a multibillion-dollar stake in Reliance Jio. The deal announcement is expected in the coming weeks. According to the report, Facebook was planning to acquire 10% stake in Jio. But the deal negotiations stalled because of the global travel bans due to coronavirus outbreak. The report also mentioned that Google was also in talks with Jio for an investment.

Jio and Microsoft entered into a long-term alliance last year to accelerate India’s digital transformation to launch cloud datacenters. Both the companies will help Indian organisations build digital capabilities with tools and platforms. This partnership involves Microsoft 365, Microsoft Azure and Microsoft AI. In partnership with Microsoft, Reliance will offer free cloud and connectivity setup to startups for free. This offer will be available from Jan 1, 2020.

Source: FT