MUMBAI: Pegging the equity value of Jio Platforms, in which parent Reliance Industries own 67.03%, at Rs 11.9 trillion or $135 billion, a domestic brokerage has said its the primary share sale planned for the first half of next year, could well run into a whopping Rs 30,000 crore, making it the largest such issues that Dalal Street has seen till date.
Reliance holds 67.03% in the largest teleco with 500 million customers and the public listing will provide an exit to many investors.
Addressing the shareholders last Friday during the annual general meeting, group chairman Mukesh Ambani said he would take Jio, in which Meta, Google, and a few other American multinational companies and a dozen other companies including private equity players hold close to 33% since April 2020, public in the first half of 2026, investing over Rs 1.5 trillion.
Jio had received investments totalling Rs 1,52,055.45 crore or $20 billion back in 2020, where it sold 32.97% stake to more than two dozen investors led by Meta (Facebook parent), Google, KKR, PIF and Mubadalam while RIL holds 67.03% and the public listing will provide an exit to many of the investors, they said.
Reliance Jio's public listing could well be the largest at Rs 30,000 crore, according to brokerage Motilal Oswal, which has pegged the equity value of the holding of Jio at Rs 11.9 trillion or $135 billion and the value of RIL stake in the company at Rs 7.91 trillion or $90 billion.
Jio Platforms is the holding company of Reliance Jio Infocomm, which fully owns the number one telco in the country.
Till now, Hyundai India's IPO holds the badge of being the largest IPO in the country, raising Rs 27, 869 crore in October 2024, overtaking LIC’s Rs 20,557 crore in May 2022, wherein the government divested just 3.5% in the nation’s largest life insurer.
The other large issues include the One9 Communication (Paytm-owner)’s Rs 18,300 crore issue in November 2021, Coal India’ Rs 15,475 crore issue in October 2010, HDB Financial’s Rs 12,500 crore issue in June this year, Reliance Power in 2008 (Rs 11,700 crore), General Insurance Corp in 2017 (Rs 11,373 crore), Bundl Tech (onwer of quick commerce delivery platform Swiggy) in November 2024 (Rs 11,329 crore), SBI Cards in March 2020 (Rs 10,355 crore), and NTPC Green in November 2024 raising Rs 10,000 crore.
Motilal pegs the enterprise value (which is the equity value plus debt) at $151 billion, while Wall Street brokerages Morgan Stanley, Citi and BofA put the enterprise value at $133 billion, $135 billion and $127 billion, respectively.
“Based on our valuation and Sebi's recent proposal for reducing stake dilution limit to 2.5%, the Jio issue could be the largest with a size of Rs 30,000 crore,' Motilal Oswal analysts said in a note following AGM last week where Ambani announced that preparations were underway for the IPO by June 2026.
“We believe the value creation through the IPO could offset the negative impact of a theoretical holding company discount for RIL's stake in the telco' the analysts added.
While the listing plans bring forth a much awaited market valuation of Jio, it will also raise the discussion on assigning a holding company discount as the business becomes directly investible, the brokerage said, adding they don’t see RIL shareholders getting any direct shares of Jio, which could be looking at offloading just 5% stake.