Intel Capital Snaps Up $255M Stake In India’s Jio Platforms

Intel Capital, Intel’s (INTC) investment arm, has announced a $255 million investment in Reliance Industries’ digital unit Jio Platforms Limited. The investment will translate into a 0.39% equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis, giving Jio a $69 billion enterprise value.

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Intel Capital joins a growing list of companies, including Facebook (FB), who have recently made significant investments in Jio Platforms, taking the total investment amount to roughly $15.8 billion.

Jio Platforms describes itself as a next-generation technology platform focused on providing high-quality and affordable digital services across India, with more than 388 million subscribers.

The company’s goal is to enable a ‘Digital India’ for 1.3 billion people and businesses across the country, including small merchants, micro-businesses and farmers.

“Jio Platforms’ focus on applying its impressive engineering capabilities to bring the power of low-cost digital services to India aligns with Intel’s purpose of delivering breakthrough technology that enriches lives… we are excited to help fuel digital transformation in India” commented Wendell Brooks, Intel Capital President.

According to Reuters, Reliance Industries plans to complete most of its private fundraising for Jio Platforms by Q3 2020, with a US public listing potentially taking place in 2021.

Shares in Intel are trading down 1% year-to-date, and analysts have a cautious Hold consensus on the stock. This breaks down into 9 buy ratings, vs 14 hold rating and 3 sell ratings. The average analyst price target of $64 indicates 8% upside potential from current levels. (See Intel stock analysis on TipRanks).

At Apple’s (AAPL) WWDC virtual event, the company officially disclosed a two-year transition for its Macs to use its own ARM-based silicon and away from Intel x86 CPUs.

“For Intel, the news here is not ideal but the Street had anticipated it already. We suspect that Apple’s own silicon roadmap was going to include an ARM-centric one, however, the timing is a bit sooner probably because of Intel’s weaker roadmap” commented Rosenblatt’s Hans Mosesmann. He has a sell rating on Intel and bearish $45 price target.