Jio may file draft IPO papers in 2-3 weeks

The initial public offering (IPO), touted as India's biggest by a private company, will see Jio selling 2.5% stake. The company is likely to be valued between $100 billion and $120 billion, the people said.

“The prospectus has been nearly finalised. The company will now hire a larger panel of banks and file the prospectus with the regulator,” one of the persons with knowledge of the plans said.

The development comes amid concerns that IPO momentum could slow in 2026 if market sentiment weakens further, particularly in the backdrop of escalating geopolitical tensions.

“The teams have been given a target of 15-20 days to file the DRHP,” the second person cited above said.

Reliance Jio was waiting for the government's nod for 2.5% public shareholding norms, and will now move ahead with its plans to tap the capital markets.

Last week, the finance ministry allowed large companies above a certain market cap to list with just 2.5% stake sale through public offers, as against the minimum 25% requirement earlier.

The rules allow companies with a post-issue valuation of above ₹5 trillion ($54 billion) to dilute a minimum of 2.5% equity, a drop from the previous 5% limit. The easing will also help companies such as the National Stock Exchange (NSE) to successfully list on Indian exchanges, Mint reported earlier.

Mint also reported this month that India has emerged as the second-largest IPO market globally by proceeds and the most active by number of deals in 2024, with companies raising about ₹1.6 trillion across more than 300 listings. The momentum carried into 2025, when 373 IPOs—including 103 mainboard listings—mobilized roughly ₹1.95 trillion.

However, listing performance is showing signs of cooling despite the strong issuance cycle. As of 12 March, returns from 2026 IPOs have averaged a 0.3% premium across 45 issues, the weakest aggregate listing performance since at least 2019, according to data from market intelligence platform Prime Database.

The groundwork for Jio's IPO started last year, when during Reliance Industries’ annual general meeting, chairman Mukesh Ambani said the company is making "all arrangements" to file for a public offer, targeting a listing in the first half of 2026.

Jio Platforms is the digital and telecom arm of the oil-to-telecom conglomerate and provides wireless, entertainment and cloud services.

Mint reported last September that Morgan Stanley India is in pole position to be the IPO's lead banker while other banks in the fray include Kotak Mahindra Capital Co, Axis Capital and Goldman Sachs.

While Goldman Sachs declined to comment, emails sent to Reliance Jio on Monday and to the merchant bankers on Tuesday remained unanswered till the time of publishing this story.

Jio's listing will also test the market appetite for pure-play telecom companies, with two of its rivals—Bharti Airtel Ltd and Vodafone Idea Ltd—already listed.

Over 2020 and 2021, Jio Platforms sold 32.96% stake to investors such as Facebook (now Meta), Google, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, KKR, Mubadala, ADIA, TPG, L Catterton, Public Investment Fund, Intel Capital and Qualcomm Ventures, raising more than ₹1.5 trillion.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley and Citi Research have pegged Reliance Jio’s valuation at around $133 billion, implying a 13 times multiple on its estimated 2026-27 enterprise value against its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.