As Mukesh Ambani reportedly dials in, Just Dial stocks surge 3%

• Shares of Just Dial gained nearly 3% on reports that Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries is looking to buy the company for $800-900 million.
• A formal announcement is reportedly expected to happen soon on the acquisition.
• Just Dial’s strong merchant database can benefit RIL’s Reliance Retail to accelerate its web performance.

Media reports on Reliance Industries buying local search company Just Dial seems to have triggered the latter’s shares. Shares of Just Dial were up nearly 3% on July 15 to ₹1,115 as of 9:30 a.m.

India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries (RIL) is looking to acquire the 25 year old local search company for $800-$900 (₹5,957 crore-6,702 crore), said a report by The Economic Times (ET) on July 15.

Just Dial Limited provides local search for different services in India over the phone, website and mobile apps.

RIL’s retail business is said to leverage on the strong database of Just Dial.

Reliance is the largest organised retailer in the country while Just Dial is the market leader in the local search engine segment with nearly 150 million average quarterly unique visitors across multiple platforms like mobile, apps, website and a telephone hotline, according to a report by ET.

Just Dial’s has called for a board meeting on Friday, July 16, to evaluate fundraising proposals, said the report by ET.

Currently, managing director of Just Dial VSS Mani and family controls 35.5% of the company, which is valued at ₹2,387.9 crore.

“Reliance is planning to buy partially from [VSS] Mani and would trigger an open offer for an additional 26% of the company’s equity which at current prices could lead to a ₹4,102 crore pay out, at current share prices. If the open offer is fully subscribed to, Reliance will end up with over 60% stake with Mani staying on as a junior partner to run the operations and ride the future upside. The deal will also see a primary infusion of capital into the company by Reliance,” added the sources mentioned by ET.

Later in the day, RIL released a statement on the bourses stating they are "unable to comment on media speculation and rumours."

Shares of Just Dial have gained 94% since January 2020. At 10:59 a.m., on July 15, shares of the company were trading at ₹1,093.75.

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