The Tata Group<\/a> has held talks with US technology giant Microsoft<\/a> to come on board as an anchor investor in its new digital platform, people in the know of developments said.
The coffee-to-cars conglomerate is keen to rope in one or two strategic investors and launch a full-blown fundraising drive, they said.
Tata Sons<\/a> chairman N Chandrasekaran has upped the ante on modernising the group’s diverse consumer businesses by combining digital assets across various businesses under a new entity, as behemoths such as Amazon and Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries pile into the country’s fledgling ecommerce market.
Group insiders said Chandrasekaran is keen to replicate the Reliance Jio<\/a> playbook, which saw it raise Rs 1.45 lakh crore ($20 billion) from investors last year, with social media giant Facebook and tech firm Google acting as strategic equity partners for the telco.
Group hopes to finalise anchor investors by early 2022
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Executives in the know said the $103 billion Indian conglomerate is hopeful of finalising the anchor investors by early next year. The discussions with Microsoft may, however, not lead to a transaction, they said.
“The challenge for a new investor is the proof of concept. Jio had a product which was up and running. In Tata<\/a>’s case, all the different pieces are yet to fall in place. Where is the super app<\/a>?” an executive said on condition of anonymity as the talks are still private.
Tata Sons did not comment. A spokesperson for Microsoft said the company would not be able to comment on the matter.
Among big tech firms, Microsoft has been scooping up companies or making investments. It came close to setting records in the third quarter this year with seven deals, including six buyouts, as well as a $5 million stake in budget hospitality chain Oravel Stays (Oyo).
On June 22, ET was the first to report that the Tatas have been aiming to raise $2-2.5 billion for its digital business. Goldman Sachs had got the mandate for the same.
Tata’s platform – a super app called Neu – will act as an ecommerce gateway for its consumer products and services, ranging from appliances to groceries and medicines to resorts and jewellery. This aims to take on Amazon.com and Walmart Inc’s local ecommerce venture Flipkart to woo more than one billion Indian consumers in a still-evolving market. However, the regulatory flux surrounding the space has delayed its launch timeline.
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