Reliance is owned by the richest man in Asia, Mukesh Ambani (Archive)
Mumbai:
Reliance has denied a report that it planned to sell a $ 20 billion stake in its retail business to American rival Amazon in a deal that could change the country’s hugely lucrative e-commerce sector.
The report released by Bloomberg on Thursday said Reliance, owned by Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, had offered Amazon a 40 percent stake in its retail subsidiary RRVL, citing an unidentified person with knowledge of the matter.
The deal, which would have been the largest for the country and for the Silicon Valley giant according to Bloomberg data, would have shaken the retail sector, transforming the relationship between two firms that have been trapped in frenzied competition for months.
But a telecommunications source from the oil giant disputed the report, which sent Reliance shares soaring more than seven percent in Mumbai, calling it “incorrect.”
“It makes no sense for both parties to establish partnerships or collaborations,” the source told AFP on condition of anonymity.
An Amazon spokeswoman declined to comment on the report.
Reliance has been fighting Amazon and Walmart-backed Flipkart for a slice of India’s online marketplace, establishing its JioMart digital platform in May.
After spending years fighting familiar local stores for customers, the retail giants are now trying to work hand-in-hand with the smaller stores that dominate cities and the interior of India to bring them online.
Last month, Reliance announced the acquisition of the retail, wholesale and logistics businesses of Future Group of India, which owns some of the best-known supermarket brands in the country, and added around 1,800 stores to its portfolio.
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