RIL Shares Gain On Reports Of Microsoft's Interest In Jio Platforms

Shares of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) peaked over 1 percent in morning trade on Thursday to an intraday high of Rs 1,464.65 apiece as reports suggested that American tech giant Microsoft will join the parade of investors of Jio Platforms with a huge investment of $2 billion.

According to a Mint report citing sources, Microsoft Corp. is interested in buying more than a 2.5 percent stake in Jio Platforms. The consumer-based digital arm of RIL has already attracted investments collectively worth $10 billion from Facebook Inc., KKR & Co., Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners and General Atlantic.

The report further said that while Microsoft has shown a keen interest in cementing its partnership with Jio Platforms by buying a stake in the company, there is no guarantee that the investment will go through.

In February, Microsoft had forged a partnership with Reliance Jio, wherein the latter plans to set up data centres across the country and use Microsoft Azure's cloud services for enterprise clients.

Foreign investors are lining up to invest in India's fast-growing digital market and Jio, with its wide reach and new age products has become a household name in the country.

If Microsoft's investment is finalised, it will become the third-largest investor in Jio Platforms after RIL and Facebook.