Reliance Jio
Platforms is considering an initial public offering this year
that would float 2.5% of the company, a move that could make it
the country’s largest-ever IPO worth more than $4 billion.
The company, led by Mukesh Ambani, is the parent of India’s
largest telecom operator Reliance Jio – with more than 500
million users. Its debut is the country’s most highly
anticipated IPO this year.
In November, investment bank Jefferies estimated that
Reliance Jio’s valuation stood at $180 billion. At that
valuation, a 2.5% stake sale would raise $4.5 billion, dwarfing
Hyundai Motor India’s $3.3 billion IPO last year.
Over the past six years, Jio has diversified into artificial
intelligence and raised funds from well-known investors
including KKR, General Atlantic, Silver Lake and the Abu
Dhabi Investment Authority.
Reliance would like to list only 2.5% of Jio’s shares
given the large size of the company, the sources said, even
though a proposal from India’s market regulator to reduce the
minimum size of share sales for large companies seeking IPOs to
2.5% from 5% is awaiting approval from the finance ministry.
“The preference is to list 2.5% at this point if the law
gets changed as a smaller amount creates more pricing tension,”
one of the sources with direct knowledge said, adding that some
bankers were pitching a valuation of $200 billion to $240
billion for the business, though Reliance hasn’t decided on a
firm number.
Reliance did not respond to Reuters requests for
comment. The sources declined to be named as they were not
authorised to speak publicly.
It has not been decided if the Jio IPO would be a so-called
offer-for-sale, which allows existing shareholders to sell their
shares to the public, or if it would also involve the issuance
of new stock. Hyundai’s India IPO, for example, was an
offer-for-sale and did not raise new funds.
The Jio listing would add to strong momentum in India’s
IPO market over the last couple of years; it ranked as the
world’s No. 2 primary equity issuance market in 2025, raising
$21.6 billion as of December 18, according to LSEG data.
Two banks working on prospectus
In 2019, Ambani first flagged plans to list Jio within five
years. Last year, Reuters reported that he delayed the offering
beyond 2025 as the company wanted a higher valuation by
expanding into other niche digital businesses.
Reliance Jio is also set to lock horns with Elon Musk, who
is expected to launch the Starlink internet service in India in
the coming months. Jio has also partnered Nvidia to
develop AI infrastructure.
In August, Ambani said Jio would list in the “first half of
2026.” The listing timeline depends on market conditions, one of
the sources said.
Although formal appointments have yet to be made, bankers
from Morgan Stanley and India’s Kotak are already working
with Reliance on drafting the IPO papers, which can be a
drawn-out process, a fifth source with direct knowledge of the
situation said.
Reliance is waiting for the 2.5% public float rule to be
cleared by the finance ministry and the size of the sale could
change in the coming months, the person added.
Reliance expects many foreign investors who invested in the
company in recent years to seek an exit via the IPO, the person
said.
Morgan Stanley and Kotak did not respond to requests
for comment.