Reliance Retail to acquire controlling stake in Just Dial for a total consideration of Rs.3497 crore
Biznextindia : Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL) on Friday announced the acquisition of controlling stake in Just Dial Limited for a total consideration of Rs 3,497 crores. RRVL to hold 40.95% stake & would make an open offer to acquire upto 2.17 crore equity shares representing 26% stake in accordance with SEBI takeover regulations.
“Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL), Just Dial Limited (Just Dial) and VSS Mani & others, today executed definitive agreements which will entail Preferential allotment of 2.12 crore equity shares (equivalent to 25.33% post preferential share capital) at price per share of Rs 1,022.25, (b) Acquisition of 1.31 crore equity shares by RRVL from VSS Mani (equivalent to 15.62% post preferential share capital) at a price per share of Rs 1,020.00 and (c) Shareholders agreement governing certain inter se rights and obligations between the parties” said RRVL in a regulatory filing.
VSS Mani shall continue as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer to lead Just Dial through the next phase of growth.
The capital infused by RRVL will help drive the growth and expansion of Just Dial into a comprehensive local listing and commerce platform. Just Dial would expand discovery on its platform and enhance transactions for millions of products and services. These investments will leverage Just Dial’s existing database of over 30.4 million listings and its existing consumer traffic of about 129.1 million quarterly unique users (as on 31 Mar 2021).
Just Dial reported a net loss of Rs. 3.8 crore in the April – June Quarter. Operating revenue stood at Rs.165.4 crore in during the quarter, a rise of 1.8 percent YoY.
“Reliance is excited to partner with Justdial and Mr. VSS Mani, a first-generation entrepreneur, who has created a strong business through his business acumen and perseverance. The investment in JustDial underlines our commitment to New Commerce by further boosting the digital ecosystem for millions of our partner merchants, micro, small and medium enterprises. We look forward to working with the highly experienced management team of Just Dial as we further expand the business going forward” Isha Ambani, Director of RRVL, said.