Reliance Industries Ltd.

Reliance Industries group is negotiating with Japan’s Orix Corporation to acquire its 23.87% stake in Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS), one of India’s leading infrastructure developers and financiers, for around $1.2 billion. 

If the deal materialises, it will make Reliance the second largest investor in IL&FS after Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and will pave the way for its entry into the financial services business. The two sides (Reliance and Orix) had signed a non-disclosure agreement in December. The negotiations are at an advanced stage.

Both sides have appointed three-member negotiating teams to structure the transaction. It is not yet clear whether the deal will be executed by private investment companies of Ambani or whether RIL, the listed flagship of the group, too will participate in the transaction. crackcrack