Reliance Jio, India's largest telecom operator, will soon be listed as a separate entity at the Indian stock exchanges. The telecom entity is currently under the Reliance Industries Limited (RIL). Reliance Industries has reportedly locked in the lead bankers for the IPO (Initial Public Offering) - Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. This listing will be the largest IPO in the history of India, and is expected to be valued between $133-$182 billion USD, according to the market estimates.
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According to ET, Jio is ready to file the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP), but is waiting for the nod from finance ministry for allowance of 2.5% public float for mega IPOs. The proposal was sent by the SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) to the ministry. The offering from Jio is likely going to be a split of primary and secondary shares.
Current investors such as TPG, KKR, Vista Partners and Silver Lake are expected to trim their holdings in the telco. However, major strategic investors such as Google, Meta (earling Facebook), are expected to retain their complete holdings in the company. Intel, which owns about 0.7% stake in the telco, is expected to also trim its holdings marginally.
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Jio is the largest telecom operator in India, and is also globally renowned for having more than 500 million mobile customers and for running the largest 5G FWA (fixed wireless access) business in the world. Until the time there's regulatory clarity for IPO, things can't go ahead. The only major decision from the government that the telco is waiting to get a nod for is a 2.5% public float. Jefferies estimates Jio's enterprise valuation at $180 billlion USD after the Q3 FY26 results. The listing will likely only happen in FY27 first or second quarter. So the estimated valuation could, in fact, go even higher.
