NE BUSINESS BUREAU
NEW DELHI, JUNE 24
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Wednesday said it has cleared Facebook’s proposed acquisition of a 9.99 percent stake in Jio Platforms, the digital arm of Reliance Industries.
The US $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 percent stake in Jio Platforms by Jaadhu Holdings LLC”, according to a tweet.
Jaadhu is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Facebook and formed in March under the laws of the state of Delaware, US. The Facebook group offers various products and services that help people connect to their friends and family, find communities, and grow businesses, the CCI said in a release.
The deal would bring together JioMart, the e-commerce venture of Asia’s richest man 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.
Jio Platforms owns and operates digital applications and holds controlling investments in certain technology-related entities. Jio Platforms also holds 100 percent of the issued and outstanding share capital of Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd.
Deals beyond a certain threshold require the approval of the CCI, which seeks to prevent unfair business practices and promote fair competition in the market place.
