Jio Platforms is seeking up to $3.2 billion in an IPO that could value it at about $108.3 billion. Public investors face a question: how much is Mukesh Ambani’s digital business worth beyond its telecom network? Most of the proceeds are earmarked to repay debt at its telecom subsidiary.
The digital arm of Indian billionaire Ambani’s Reliance Industries is proposing what could become India’s largest initial public offering. In a stock exchange filing on Wednesday, Reliance said Jio had set a price range of ₹1,065 to ₹1,119 per share, about $11.19–$11.76, for an offering of up to 270 million new shares.
Even at the bottom of that range, the offering would exceed Hyundai Motor India’s ₹278.7 billion IPO in 2024, currently the country’s largest. Hyundai’s offering was worth $3.3 billion at the time. The record comparison is in rupees, not dollar equivalents from different periods.
At the upper end of the range, Jio’s expected post-offering share count would put its valuation at about ₹10.3 trillion, or $108.3 billion. That compares with a valuation of up to ₹4.91 trillion, about $65 billion at the time, in 2020.
The listing will test public-market appetite after Jio attracted more than $20 billion from global investors in 2020. Meta, then known as Facebook, invested $5.7 billion, while Google committed $4.5 billion. Public investors will now assess a business that has expanded beyond mobile service into broadband, cloud services, and other digital businesses.
Telecom remains central to that assessment. Since its launch in 2016, Jio has become India’s largest telecom operator, with more than 524 million subscribers as of March 31. It leads Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and state-owned BSNL. Free data and cheap plans helped attract customers early on, although its prices are now comparable to those of its rivals.
Jio’s IPO prospectus reports growth in both sales and earnings. For the quarter ended June, revenue rose nearly 12% from a year earlier to ₹391.7 billion, about $4.1 billion. Net profit increased 9% to ₹77.6 billion, around $816 million.
But the planned use of the new capital centers on the telecom balance sheet, rather than primarily funding expansion into other digital services. According to the prospectus, Jio intends to use up to ₹275 billion, or $2.9 billion, to repay debt at Reliance Jio Infocomm. The remaining proceeds will go toward general corporate purposes.
The offering also comes amid a dispute over satellite internet access in India. Elon Musk has intensified his criticism of Ambani, accusing him of trying to keep Starlink out of the country. Indian authorities have rejected Musk’s claims.
That accusation follows agreements that Jio and rival Airtel signed more than a year earlier with Musk’s SpaceX to distribute Starlink’s satellite internet service in India. Those arrangements were subject to regulatory approvals.
For the IPO, Jio has reserved shares worth up to ₹25 billion, about $263 million, for eligible Reliance Industries shareholders. Another ₹5 billion, or $53 million, is reserved for employees, who will receive a ₹54-per-share discount.
Anchor-investor bidding is scheduled for October 19. The public subscription window opens on October 21 and closes on October 23, giving investors that period to decide whether to back Jio at its proposed price range.
