Facebook Invests $5.7B in Indian Telecommunications Outfit Jio Platforms

The deal marks the company’s largest transaction since acquiring WhatsApp

Facebook inked its largest deal since agreeing to acquire WhatsApp for $19 billion in 2014, revealing that it will invest $5.7 billion in Indian telecommunications operator Jio Platforms, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries.

India is the most important market for Facebook-owned messaging application WhatsApp, with research firm eMarketer pegging its user total in the country at 340 million last September.

Teaming up with Jio may help Facebook make further inroads in India, as its efforts to roll out a payments service for WhatsApp have been hampered by regulatory concerns over privacy, potentially meeting the same fate as its Free Basics attempt to provide internet access.

Facebook chief revenue officer David Fischer and vice president and managing director for India Ajit Mohan said in a Newsroom post, “This investment underscores our commitment to India and our excitement for the dramatic transformation that Jio has spurred in the country.

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