Jio Platforms eyes listing in first half of 2026; IPO being seen as biggest in Indian history

New Delhi, Aug 29 (PTI) Jio Platforms, the entity that houses Reliance Industries' telecom and digital businesses, is gearing up for an initial public offering (IPO) and stock market listing in the first half of 2026, RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani said Friday, sparking wide expectations that the share-sale could be the biggest in the country's history.

Jio is currently a unit of Reliance Industries, India's most valuable company, and while the Reliance Industries Chairman did not disclose the quantum of shares to be listed nor the size of the IPO, markets pundits are speculating that a 10 per cent share-sale could be in the offing.

Addressing the annual shareholder meeting of the company, Ambani said, "Jio is making all arrangements to file for its IPO. We are aiming to list Jio by the first half of 2026, subject to all necessary approvals." Jio Platforms Ltd (JPL) houses Reliance Jio Infocomm, India's largest telecom operator that boasts of 500 million (50 crore) users. JPL has marquee global and tech investors including Google and Meta, underscoring strong strategic partnerships and a culture of tech innovation.

"I am sure that it will be a very attractive opportunity for all investors," he said, and promised that Jio's plans for the future are "even more ambitious".

Ambani asserted that the IPO will demonstrate Jio's capability of creating the same quantum of value as global counterparts.

JPL is currently 66.3 per cent owned by Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL).

JPL had earlier raised about Rs 1,52,056 crore from 13 high profile investors namely Facebook, Google, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, KKR, Mubadala, ADIA, TPG, L Catterton, Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, Intel Capital and Qualcomm Ventures, for a total consideration of 32.9 per cent stake.

Facebook (now Meta) holds a 10 per cent stake in Jio Platforms, while Google has another 7.7 per cent. PE investors have the remaining 16 per cent.

Incidentally, it was back in the 2019 AGM, that Ambani had first mentioned plans to list Jio within five years.

According to market analysts, the initial share-sale of Jio is expected to be the biggest IPO in India.

Till now, Hyundai Motor India's Rs 27,870 crore (about USD 3.3 billion) IPO in October 2024 is the biggest initial share-sale. This had surpassed the Rs 21,000 crore offering by Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) in May 2022.

The list of big IPOs also include One97 Communications (Paytm), which mobilised Rs 18,300 crore in November 2021, Coal India's Rs 15,199 crore IPO in October 2010, Reliance Power's Rs 11,563 crore in January 2008, and General Insurance Corporation of India's Rs 11,176 crore in October 2017.

The announcement comes at a time when the primary market is seeing strong interest from both issuers and investors across sectors.

So far this year, 50 companies got listed on the bourses with a dozen firms making debut in August itself. The companies making a beeline for primary markets include Tata Capital, Groww, BoAt, PhysicsWallah, Zepto and OYO.

Analysts have pegged Jio's enterprise valuation at USD 136-154 billion. In April this year, Jeferries had in a note said:"We raise our EV (enterprise value) for Jio to USD 136 billion as we roll-forward valuations to Mar-26".

Jio has scripted a spectacular growth story ever since it entered India’s telecom market in September 2016, initially with free data and voice services that disrupted traditional models of incumbents like Bharti Airtel, the Mukesh Ambani led company brought high-speed mobile internet to the easy reach of millions of Indians.

Within six months of launch, Jio had amassed over 100 million subscribers, reflecting the underlying appetite for affordable broadband in India.

Massive investment in infrastructure followed as did slew of partnerships all of which catapulted Jio as the largest mobile network operator in India, and accelerated the pace of its innovations.

In the AGM address on Friday, Ambani recounted Jio's many achievements were previously unimaginable, among them was making voice calls free from anywhere to everywhere in India, creating a habit for common Indians to watch videos, and making digital payments on mobiles.

Ambani said Jio's nationwide 5G rollout, the fastest in the world, laid the foundation for the AI revolution in India.

"As a result of these achievements, the financial performance of Jio is scaling new heights with every passing year. Jio's revenue was Rs 1,28,218 crore (USD 15 billion), a growth of 17 per cent year-on-year in FY25; and EBITDA was Rs 64,170 crore (USD 7.5 billion)," he said, adding that the performance was a testimony to the enormous value Jio has already created, and "even greater value it is destined to create".

Ambani affirmed Jio's commitment to connect every Indian on mobile and home broadband. Further, Jio will equip every Indian home with digital services, such as Jio Smart Home, JioTV+, Jio TV OS, and seamless automation. Jio will digitise every Indian business and enterprise with simple, scalable, and secure platforms, and usher in the AI revolution in India.

"Our motto is AI everywhere for everyone," Ambani declared.

Jio will expand its operations outside India, taking home-grown technology to people around the world.

"I am extremely confident that the path ahead for Jio is even brighter than its journey so far," he said. PTI TEAM ANZ ANU