The Competition Commission of India (CCI) said that it has cleared the proposition of Facebook of acquiring 9.99% stake in Jio Platforms, the digital section of the famous Reliance Industries.
It is a $5.7 billion deal which comes to Rs. 43,574 crore, which is the largest Foreign Direct Investment in the technology sector of India. This deal was revealed in April this year and was due to be approved. The CCI made its approval on Wednesday. Facebook has established Jaadhu Holdings LLC, an entirely new entity, to take care of this investment in Jio.
A tweet read, “The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved acquisition of 9.99 percent stake in Jio Platforms by Jaadhu Holdings LLC”.
Reliance Industries had set up Jio Platforms in October 2019 to take care of all the digital initiatives of Reliance.
This deal would partner JioMart and WhatsApp together under one platform where customers would be able to get in touch with their local ‘kirana’ stores.
Jio has 388 million phone subscribers, while more than 400 million people in India use WhatsApp. More than 250 million people in India are subscribed to Facebook.
Although the deal was finalized earlier, it required the approval of CCI because the investment was high. This ensures there are fair business practices and fair competition in the market place.
Conclusion:
Promoting the local grocery stores is a great initiative. Small startups and local businesses would be able to sell their products and make their businesses known to more people.
