Fact Check: Kolkata Knight Riders will not acquire 1.28% stake in Reliance Retail

Hyderabad: A Facebook user recently shared a screenshot of an article published in the website Shortpedia that said the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is set to acquire 1.28 per cent stake in Reliance Retail at Rs. 5,500 crore.

The Facebook user, in a caption, wrote, "Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is an asset management giant that is also present in investment banking and sports. It is divided into five segments (1) Private Markets (private equity and real estate) (2) Public Markets (credit and hedge funds) (3) Capital Markets (investment banking)

(4) Principal Activities (prop trading / investing) (5) Sports (IPL team)"

Fact Check:

The claim is FALSE. The American investment company, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, is investing in Reliance Retail and not Kolkata Knight Riders.

According to news reports published in the Hindustan Times, the Indian Express, and Bloomberg, on 23 September Reliance Industries said the US-based global investment company, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, would invest in its retail arm, Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL).

This deal marks the second investment by Kohlberg in a subsidiary of Reliance Industries following an investment of Rs. 11,367 crore in Jio Platforms announced earlier this year.

Shortpedia confused Kohlberg Kravis Roberts's acronym 'KKR' for Kolkata Knight Riders, also KKR. It published a report on 23 September with the headline, "Kolkata Knight Riders to acquire 1.28% stake in Reliance Retail at Rs 5,500 crore".

Later, after realising its mistake, it made the necessary correction.

Former KKR team director Joy Bhattacharjya also wrote about the KKR confusion on his Facebook page and shared an 11-year-old anecdote when some people confused KKR for a global investment company.

The Free Press Journal also cleared the confusion regarding Kohlberg and Kolkata Knight Riders.

Hence, the claim that Kolkata Knight Riders is investing in Reliance Retail is FALSE.