India’s antitrust regulator approved Facebook’s purchase of a 9.99% stake in the digital services unit controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, giving the social media giant another foothold in one of the world’s fastest-growing online markets. From a report:
The U.S.-based company will invest $5.7 billion in Jio Platforms through Jaadhu Holdings LLC, an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Facebook, according to a filing on the Competition Commission of India website. The clearance paves the way for a slew of smaller deals that take Jio’s parent – Reliance Industries Ltd. – closer to its goal of becoming net debt free by March 2021 while using its roughly 400 million wireless phone subscribers as the cornerstone of an e-commerce and digital services business. Ambani’s $65 billion digital unit has sold more than 20% in stakes to buyers including Facebook and U.S. private equity firms KKR, Silver Lake Partners and General Atlantic.
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