Mukesh Ambani’s record IPO of Jio delayed by regulatory limbo

Synopsis Mukesh Ambani's ambitious Jio Platforms IPO faces potential delays due to the Indian government's slow formalization of new listing rules. Reliance aims to file the draft prospectus before April, contingent on government notification. This mega IPO, potentially India's largest, could be impacted by the regulatory wait, despite the regulator's approval of rule changes. The Indian government’s delays in formalizing changes to listing rules are threatening to force Asia’s richest person, Mukesh Ambani, to miss the targeted timeline for an initial public offering of shares in Jio Platforms Ltd., the digital arm of his flagship company Reliance Industries Ltd. Reliance is waiting for the government to formalize the changes backed by the regulator to appoint bankers formally and file a draft IPO prospectus, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. The company is now aiming to file the draft prospectus before April, depending on the government notification, they said. Jio, which owns India’s largest wireless operator, is one of the crown jewels of Ambani’s empire and its IPO — the first listing of a major Reliance unit in almost 20 years — could be the country’s biggest ever. Investment bankers have proposed a valuation of as much as $170 billion for the company, which would offer a rare opportunity for investors to buy into one of world’s biggest growth stories of the past decade. Ambani said in August that Reliance was aiming to list Jio in the first half of 2026, a plan he had first signaled 2019 — back then with a five-year timeline. A top-end valuation could raise about $4.3 billion by selling the minimum stake and would place the company among the biggest companies in India by market value. Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc. announced investments totaling more than $10 billion in Jio in 2020. Read more: Ambani Targets Reliance Jio’s IPO by June Ending Years of Wait Live Events Deliberations are ongoing and details of the offering, including timing and size, may change, the people said. Reliance Industries declined to immediately comment. Representatives for the finance ministry didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. The Securities and Exchange Board of India in September approved amendments to its regulations, allowing companies with a post-issue market capitalization exceeding 5 trillion rupees ($55 billion) to dilute as little as 2.5% in an IPO, rather than the current minimum of 5%. The rule change is a possible catalyst for mega listings such as Jio and National Stock Exchange of India, but doesn’t yet have final government approval. It’s unclear what the holdup is and there’s no indication that the delay is targeting the Jio IPO in particular. The next step, which can usually take as long as a few months depending on government deliberations, is for the finance ministry to formally incorporate the changes and announce them in the Official Gazette, said Sonam Chandwani, managing partner at KS Legal & Associates. “While the regulator has paved the way, the industry is now awaiting the final gazette notification, which we expect to see materialize in the first half of 2026,” said Ankita Singh, founder of Sarvaank Associates, a law firm. NSE, meanwhile, is proceeding with plans to raise as much as $2.5 billion in an IPO. The company last month invited banks to pitch for roles in the offering. The two share sales would provide a much needed shot in the arm for the Indian market, where listings have struggled to start 2026 after two consecutive years of record fundraising. (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel) (What's moving Sensex and Nifty Track latest market news, stock tips, Budget 2025, Share Market on Budget 2025 and expert advice, on ETMarkets. Also, ETMarkets.com is now on Telegram. For fastest news alerts on financial markets, investment strategies and stocks alerts, subscribe to our Telegram feeds .) Subscribe to ET Prime and read the Economic Times ePaper Online.and Sensex Today. Top Trending Stocks: SBI Share Price, Axis Bank Share Price, HDFC Bank Share Price, Infosys Share Price, Wipro Share Price, NTPC Share Price ...moreless AI puts India’s USD190-billion services trade surplus at a crossroads All eyes on crude, but it's something else that could trip economy Prashant Jain’s contrarian masterstroke: From IT exit to SBI super bet Battlefields and barrels: The explosive link between war and crude Stock Radar: APL Apollo Tubes stock hits fresh record highs; breaks out from 8-quarter consolidation phase These mid-cap stocks with ‘Strong Buy’ & ‘Buy’ recos can rally over 25%, according to analysts 1 2 3