Mukesh Ambani has spent half a billion dollars mostly for Just Dial’s listings

Jul 19, 2021 By: Bhakti Makwana

Just dial business overview

Just Dial isn’t a blockbuster business, but it has 30.4 million listings and 129 million new users at the end of March quarter Credit: BCCL

Just Dial—a plain vanilla listings platform

24 years after its founding, and 8 years after listing, Just Dial has remained a plain vanilla listings platform. Credit: BCCL

Analyst comment on the deal

“Just Dial is an under-monetised platform,” said an Edelweiss report dated July 15. Credit: BCCL

Stock movement in 5 years

This shows in the stock price too, which has taken 5 years to gain a little less than 85 percent. Credit: BCCL

Open offer did not excite investors

That’s why, despite the boom in the valuations for online marketplaces, the open offer for Just Dial investors didn’t excite the market. Credit: BCCL

Shares of Just Dial fell after acquisition announcement

Shares of Just Dial fell 5 percent on July 19 after Reliance Retail Venture, which owns the e-tail platform JioMart, bought 66.95 percent stake for ₹3,497 crore ($466 million). Credit: BCCL

Open offer

The open offer for existing public shareholders, at ₹1,022 a piece, was over 4 percent less than the closing price on July 16. Credit: BCCL

Reliance Retail—Just Dial

Ambani may want to turn Just Dial into a comprehensive discovery and transactions platform, Kotak Institutional Equities reportedly said. Credit: BCCL

JioMart Future expansion

Reliance wants to accelerate digital services and expand category play on JioMart, it said in an investor presentation. Credit: BCCL