Ambani’s Jio said to seek about Rs 11 lakh crore valuation in IPO

Jio Platforms Ltd. is likely to seek a valuation of about 11 trillion rupees ($114 billion) in its planned initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter, falling short of earlier expectations for what may still be the country’s largest-ever listing.

The telecom and digital services arm of billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd. has finished gauging demand for the offering and is likely to begin meetings with potential investors this week to discuss valuation and pricing, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.

India’s largest wireless operator is looking to open its IPO the week of Oct. 19 and list before Oct. 30, the people said. Deliberations are ongoing and the final dates, valuation and other details could change, they said.

A representative for Jio didn’t immediately respond to a request for comments.

The valuation would also make Jio India’s third most valuable publicly traded company, behind parent Reliance, which has a market capitalization of about $169 billion. Bharti Airtel Ltd., Jio’s main telecommunications rival, is valued at about $116 billion.

Jio filed its draft prospectus in June for an offering of as many as 270 million new shares, equivalent to about 2.93% of its post-issue equity capital, according to Bloomberg calculations. Valuation figures floated earlier were higher, including in the $130 billion to $170 billion range at one point.

But a stock rout has dented the pricing ambition of several IPOs in the country, including the marquee offering of National Stock Exchange of India Ltd., which was forced to downsize its deal. In June, local brokerage Motilal Oswal Financial Services estimated Jio’s valuation at between $115 billion and $118 billion, while Dolat Capital valued the company at around $110 billion.

At a $114 billion valuation, the Jio shares being offered would be worth about $3.4 billion, still surpassing the 278.7 billion rupees ($2.9 billion) raised by Hyundai Motor Co.’s Indian unit in 2024.

Jio’s offering adds to an already busy year for India’s IPO market. Listing proceeds surpassed $9 billion in the July-September quarter, the most ever for the period, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That pushed fundraising so far this year to more than $13 billion.

The company has appointed 19 banks to work on the share sale, including Kotak Mahindra Capital Co., Morgan Stanley, BofA Securities Inc., Axis Capital Ltd., BNP Paribas and Citigroup Inc.