Fresh from saying it was ready to invest as much as $10 billion in India over the next five to seven years, Alphabet's (GOOG 1.25%) (GOOGL 1.27%) Google is reportedly negotiating a $4 billion investment in telecom and internet provider Jio Platforms, a division of the country's Reliance Industries, according to Bloomberg.
Google would join a growing list of major investors, including Facebook (META 2.98%), which took a $5.7 billion stake in Jio earlier this year (making Facebook the largest minority shareholder in the company); private equity firms KKR and Vista Equity Partners, both of which put $1.5 billion into the company; and chip companies Intel and Qualcomm.
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A digital transformation is underway
According to Bloomberg, Reliance is looking to transform its energy conglomerate into a digital star in India, and it has attracted almost $16 billion in investments from global tech companies and private equity firms.
Facebook noted that over 560 million people have come online in India over the past five years, making it second only to China in the number of internet users. Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said the goal of Google's investments in the coming years would be to help increase access to information and technology in India.
Citing anonymous sources, Bloomberg says a deal could be reached within the next few weeks.
