Jio Platforms Seeks $3.2 Billion in India's Potential Largest IPO

Jio Platforms, the digital arm of Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries, is seeking to raise as much as $3.2 billion in what could become India's largest initial public offering. The IPO will open for subscription on October 21 and close on October 23, with bidding for anchor investors scheduled for October 19.

IPO Terms and Valuation

According to a stock exchange filing by Reliance Industries, Jio has set a price band of ₹1,065 to ₹1,119 (about $11.19 to $11.76) per share for an offering of up to 270 million new shares. At the upper end of the proposed range, the IPO would value Jio at approximately ₹10.3 trillion, or around $108.3 billion, based on the number of shares expected to be outstanding after the offering.

The offering is set to surpass Hyundai Motor India's ₹278.7 billion ($3.3 billion at the time) IPO in 2024, which remains the country's biggest to date, even if Jio's shares are priced at the lower end of the range. Jio had previously attracted more than $20 billion from global investors in 2020, including a $5.7 billion investment from Meta, then known as Facebook, and a $4.5 billion commitment from Google. At that time, the company was valued at up to ₹4.91 trillion, or about $65 billion.

Financial Performance

In the quarter ended June, Jio's revenue rose nearly 12% from a year earlier to ₹391.7 billion (about $4.1 billion), while net profit climbed 9% to ₹77.6 billion (around $816 million), according to its IPO prospectus. The company has set aside shares worth up to ₹25 billion (about $263 million) for eligible Reliance Industries shareholders and another ₹5 billion ($53 million) for employees, who will receive a discount of ₹54 per share. Of the proceeds, Jio plans to use up to ₹275 billion ($2.9 billion) to repay debt at its telecom subsidiary, Reliance Jio Infocomm, with the remainder going toward general corporate purposes.

Growth and Expansion

Since launching in 2016, Jio has grown into India's largest telecom operator, with more than 524 million subscribers as of March 31, ahead of Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and state-owned BSNL. It initially drew customers with free data and cheap plans, though its prices are now comparable to those of rivals. Over time, the company has expanded beyond telecommunications into broadband, cloud services, and other digital businesses. The IPO comes as Elon Musk has stepped up criticism of Ambani over Starlink's presence in India, though Indian authorities have rejected the accusations.

Sources: TechCrunch · Techmeme