Govt Allows Facebook To Acquire 9.99% Stake In Jio For Rs 43,000 Crore; Opens Door For Google, Amazon

Govt of India has given the green signal to Facebook’s 9.99% acquisition of Jio for Rs 43,000 crore.

Now, this is an interesting development, since it opens doors for similar deals between telecom companies and digital czars: Google-Vodafone; Amazon-Airtel.

Govt: No Issues With Facebook-Jio Deal

In April, Jio and Facebook shook the investment world when they announced a mega deal, one of the biggest in India.

For Rs 43574 crore, Jio agreed to sell 9.99% stake to Facebook. 

While Jio is India’s biggest telecom operator, Facebook is world’s biggest social media portal, and owns Whatsapp and Instagram.

However, this deal was under the scanner of Competition Commission of India or CCI, since threats of monopoly and market domination was visible.

Now, after the investigation and research, CCI has announced that the deal is fair enough.

In a statement, CCI informed: “The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approves acquisition of 9.99% stake in Jio Platforms by Jaadhu Holdings LLC,”

Jadhu Holdings is an “indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Facebook (and is a) newly incorporated company formed in March 2020 under the laws of the state of Delaware, US.”

This means that Jio and Facebook can now work together, and target 6 crore SMEs, businesses in India and more than 50 crore Internet users with new features and capabilities. 

And the fight against TikTok too has gained new momentum.

Google-Vodafone; Amazon-Airtel Deals Can Go Through Now

Another big advantage of Govt approving Jio-Facebook deal is that it opens doors for further mega investments in the telecom sector, which is actually gasping for air right now.

While Amazon wants to invest Rs 15,000 crore in Airtel and own 5% stake; Google is keen to grab a slice of Vodafone-Idea and acquire 5% stake.

Although Google and Amazon hasn’t revealed their plans and have denied any such negotiations, but the fact is, they want a stable presence in the Indian telecom market, and CCI’s green signal for Facebook-Jio deal can open up the doors for them.

We will keep you updated, as more details come in.