Reliance Retail Acquires Justdial: $469 Million Deal

Reliance Retail Acquires Majority Stake in Just Dial

Reliance Retail announced on Friday the acquisition of a controlling interest in Just Dial, a prominent Indian search and discovery platform established 25 years ago. The transaction is valued at $469 million.

Details of the Acquisition

The leading Indian retail company has secured a 41% stake in the publicly traded Just Dial for $469 million. An additional offer will be made to acquire a further 26% stake in the future. VSS Mani, the founder and current Chief Executive Officer of Just Dial, will maintain his leadership position within the organization, as confirmed by a joint press release from both companies.

Just Dial’s Services

Just Dial provides local search and e-commerce functionalities through its website, mobile applications, and a dedicated telephone service. Indian consumers can easily locate local service providers, such as plumbers, hotels, and housekeeping services, simply by dialing 8888888888.

Prior to its public listing, the company successfully raised approximately $102 million in funding from investors including Tiger Global, Elevation Capital, Sequoia Capital India, Sapphire Ventures, and Nalanda Capital. It has cultivated an extensive database, delivering highly relevant search results that frequently appear in top positions on Google and other search engines.

The service is offered at no cost to end-users. However, Just Dial generates revenue by charging businesses and individual service professionals a fee for inclusion in its directory.

Statements from Leadership

“Our initial vision, almost 25 years ago, was to develop a unified platform offering quick, free, dependable, and thorough information to users, connecting buyers with sellers,” stated Mani.

“This vision has broadened to encompass not only search and discovery but also to facilitate commerce for merchants through our B2B platform and to enable further consumer-to-merchant transactions, leveraging our platform engagement. This strategic alliance with Reliance will allow us to realize this vision and reshape the business for the future.”

Reliance’s Recent Investments

The acquisition of Just Dial represents one of several investments made by Reliance Industries – or its subsidiaries, including Jio Platforms and Reliance Retail – which collectively secured over $27 billion in funding last year from prominent investors like Facebook and Google.

In August, Reliance acquired a 60% stake in Vitalic, the parent company of pharma marketplace Netmeds, for approximately $83.2 million. Subsequently, in November, it acquired online furniture startup Urban Ladder for $24.4 million in a distressed sale.

Last year, Reliance Retail also entered into a $3.4 billion agreement with Future Group to acquire a significant portion of India’s second-largest retail chain’s businesses. This deal is currently subject to legal challenges involving American e-commerce giant Amazon and has yet to be finalized.

Looking Ahead

“Reliance is pleased to collaborate with Justdial and Mr. VSS Mani, a pioneering entrepreneur who has built a robust business through his business insight and dedication,” said Isha Ambani, Director of Reliance Retail.

“This investment in Just Dial reinforces our dedication to New Commerce by further strengthening the digital ecosystem for our extensive network of partner merchants, including micro, small, and medium enterprises. We anticipate collaborating with Just Dial’s highly skilled management team to expand the business further.”