Mukesh Ambani's Jio adds TPG to backers with $600 million stake sale

TPG Capital agreed to pay 45.4 billion rupees ($600 million) for a stake in Jio Platforms Ltd., the telecommunications and digital services business of Reliance Industries Ltd., India's largest company.

The deal is for a 0.93% share, Reliance said in a statement.

The Texas-based private equity firm's backing adds to the list of well-known investment firms joining billionaire Mukesh Ambani's bid to pay down debt at his Reliance flagship. He has also drawn investors with a plan to shift the conglomerate toward growth in e-commerce, online entertainment and digital payments, away from a dependence on revenue from oil refining and petrochemicals.

Ambani's $65 billion digital unit has sold about 22% in stakes to buyers including Facebook Inc., KKR & Co., Silver Lake Partners and General Atlantic. Jio is expected to use its roughly 400 million wireless phone subscribers as the cornerstone of an e-commerce and digital services business in the world's second-biggest country.