CCI approves Facebook’s 9.99% stake buy in Jio Platforms

PTI, Jun 24, 2020, 7:01 PM IST

New Delhi: The Competition Commission on Wednesday said it has cleared Facebook’s proposed acquisition of 9.99 per cent stake in Jio Platforms, the digital arm of Reliance Industries.

The USD 5.7 billion (Rs 43,574 crore) deal — the single largest FDI in the technology sector in India — was announced in April. The US social-networking major had set up a separate entity — Jaadhu Holdings LLC — for making the investment.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved “acquisition of 9.99 per cent stake in Jio Platforms by Jaadhu Holdings LLC”, according to a tweet.

Jio Platforms was created in October last year to house all-digital initiative of Reliance.

The deal would bring together JioMart, the e-commerce venture of Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, and Facebook’s WhatsApp platform to connect consumers with neighbourhood kirana stores.

WhatsApp has over 400 million users in India while Jio has more than 388 million phone subscribers. Facebook has about 250 million users in India.

Deals beyond a certain threshold require approval of the CCI, which seeks to prevent unfair business practices and promoter fair competition in the market place.