Mukesh Ambani, Sunil Mittal in race to acquire stake in THIS Chinese firm, its business is...

Mukesh Ambani, the richest man in Asia, continues to expand his business. The billionaire's flagship firm, Reliance Industries, has now joined the crowded race to acquire a stake in Haier's Indian unit, ET reported. Haier is a Chinese consumer electronics giant which sells products such as air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, televisions and water heaters. The company has been operating in India since 2003. Haier is reportedly looking to sell up to 51 per cent of its India business to bring in an Indian partner. The company is reportedly seeking to localise its consumer electronics and appliance manufacturing business by roping in a homegrown strategic partner.

Now, the Ambani-led company Reliance will be against a consortium that includes Sunil Mittal of the Bharti Group, among others, to acquire a stake in Haier. Ambani and Mittal currently have tough competition in India's telecom sector. As per ET, Reliance's advisers have directly reached out to Haier’s headquarters in China with a non-binding offer earlier this year. Mittal has also reportedly visited China to meet Haier’s management.

Haier posted sales of Rs 8,900 crore in calendar 2024, up 33% from 2023. It is now targeting Rs 11,500 crore sales in 2025. Haier India makes around 90 per cent of its appliances locally and announced expanding its AC manufacturing capacity in Noida with an investment of Rs 1,000 crore last month.

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Mukesh Ambani vs Sunil Mittal

Both are Indian billionaires with massive net worths. Ambani is the richest man in Asia with a net worth of USD 103.2 billion, as per Forbes. While Mittal has a net worth of USD 13.5 billion, as of April 28.