Jio Platforms Eyes $114 Billion Valuation in Planned Share Sale

Jio Platforms is likely to seek a valuation of about ₹ 11 lakh crore, or $114 billion, in its upcoming initial public offering. This move falls short of earlier expectations for what could still become India's largest-ever stock market listing.

IPO Details and Market Context

The digital and telecom services arm of billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries has finished gauging demand from the market. The company plans to start meetings with potential investors this week to discuss pricing and valuation. A stock rout has hurt the pricing plans of several Indian IPOs, forcing companies like the National Stock Exchange of India to downsize their share sales. Local brokerages Motilal Oswal Financial Services and Dolat Capital had previously estimated the valuation between $110 billion and $118 billion.

Offering Size and Comparisons

Jio filed its draft prospectus in June to offer up to 270 million new shares, which equals about 2.93% of its post-issue equity capital. At the $114 billion valuation, the offered shares will be worth about $3.4 billion. This amount beats the ₹ 27,870 crore, or $2.9 billion, raised by Hyundai Motor India in 2024. The new valuation also places Jio as India's third most valuable publicly traded company, sitting behind parent firm Reliance Industries at a $169 billion market cap and main rival Bharti Airtel at about $116 billion. The company has hired 19 banks to manage the share sale, including Kotak Mahindra Capital, Morgan Stanley, BofA Securities, Axis Capital, BNP Paribas, and Citigroup.

Context

Initial public offerings allow private companies to raise money from the public by selling shares on stock exchanges. Large share sales like this one reflect broader activity in India's financial markets, where high listing proceeds have driven significant fundraising activity over the past year.