By Hadeel Al Sayegh
DUBAI (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala Investment Co will on Thursday sign an agreement to invest in the retail division of India’s Reliance Industries , (NS:RELI) according to a source close to the deal.
Mubadala will invest just over 3 billion dirhams ($817 million), which translates into a 1.4% equity stake in Reliance Retail Ventures Limited on a fully diluted basis, the source said.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that Mubadala, the second-biggest state investor in Abu Dhabi after Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, was in advanced talks to invest in Reliance Retail.
Reliance Retail is on a fundraising spree and has secured around $1.8 billion in the past few weeks from KKR & Co KKR.N and Silver Lake Partners.
Reliance, controlled by Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, has approached investors, who collectively pumped more than $20 billion into its Jio Platforms digital business this year, to take stakes in its retail business.
The retail business has nearly 12,000 stores and sells everything from groceries and electronics to fashion and shoes.
Mubadala manages over $230 billion in assets.
Mubadala's group chief executive Khaldoon Khalifa al-Mubarak said in June the fund was under-invested in Asia and planned to expand its portfolio in the region.
($1 = 3.6728 UAE dirham)