Jio seeks $3.2B in India's potential biggest IPO
Original: Ambani’s Jio seeks to raise $3.2B in what could be India’s biggest IPO
Why This Matters
A $108B public valuation would cement Jio as a benchmark for India's digital infrastructure market.
Jio Platforms set a price band of ₹1,065–₹1,119 per share for 270M new shares, opening Oct. 21–23. At the top end, the offering values Jio at ~$108.3B, surpassing Hyundai India's 2024 record.
Reliance Industries filed with Indian stock exchanges Wednesday to list Jio Platforms, the digital arm of Mukesh Ambani's conglomerate, in an IPO targeting up to $3.2 billion. Anchor investor bidding opens October 19, with the public subscription window running October 21–23.
At the upper price band of ₹1,119 per share, Jio's implied valuation reaches roughly ₹10.3 trillion (~$108.3 billion), nearly double its 2020 private valuation of ~$65 billion, when Meta invested $5.7 billion and Google committed $4.5 billion. The offering would eclipse Hyundai Motor India's ₹278.7 billion IPO in 2024, currently the country's largest.
Founded in 2016, Jio now counts 524 million telecom subscribers, leading rivals Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and BSNL. The company has since expanded into broadband, cloud services, and other digital verticals. For the quarter ended June 2026, revenue rose nearly 12% year-on-year to ~$4.1 billion, with net profit up 9% to ~$816 million.
Jio plans to direct up to $2.9 billion of IPO proceeds toward debt repayment at telecom subsidiary Reliance Jio Infocomm. Shares worth ~$263 million are reserved for Reliance shareholders, and $53 million worth for employees at a ₹54-per-share discount.
The listing arrives amid public friction between Ambani and Elon Musk, who has accused Jio of blocking Starlink's India entry — claims Indian authorities have rejected. Notably, both Jio and Airtel have already signed Starlink distribution agreements pending regulatory approval.