Reliance Industries begins preps for Jio Platforms IPO; DRHP filing likely soon: Bloomberg

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries (RIL) ​aims to file ‌a draft red herring ​prospectus for ​the initial public ⁠offering of ​its digital and telecom ​unit, Jio Platforms, as early as ​the ​end of this month, reported ‌Bloomberg ⁠News on Tuesday, citing sources ​familiar ​with ⁠the matter. However, Business Today could ​not immediately ​verify ⁠the report.

India's largest conglomerate formally kicked off preparations for the IPO on Tuesday as it appointed as many as 17 bankers to manage the issue. Morgan Stanley, HSBC Holdings, JP Morgan, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs Group are among nine global banks selected for advisory roles, said the report citing sources who requested anonymity for the information.

On the domestic front, the company has appointed Kotak Mahindra Capital Company, Axis Capital, JM Financial and SBI Capital Markets to manage the issue. Jio Platform's could be the biggest IPO in Indian history and first by Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Group in nearly two decades.

India recently has introduced a key reform to its listing framework, which eased the dilution norms for mega-IPO bound companies. The government issued a gazette notification on Friday, allowing companies with a post-issue market value exceeding Rs 5 lakh crore ($54 billion) to dilute as little as 2.5 per cent of their equity in an IPO.

The move follows earlier approval by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in September and reflects efforts to make India’s capital markets more flexible and attractive for large, high-value enterprises. This was a key move, which ramped up the process for the IPO of Jio Platforms.

Sources suggest that the IPO of Jio Platforms is likely to include both fresh issue and an offer-for-sale component, but majorly it will comprise of secondary share sale by existing investors. However, details around issue size, structure, timing, valuations are yet to be finalized, said the new report.

Reliance Jio Platforms is eyeing an IPO in early-to-mid 2026 with a projected valuation between $130 billion-$170 billion, with some estimates citing a $180 billion valuation as well. However, the company has remained tight lipped on the valuations. Global tech giants like Meta Platforms and Google-parent Alphabet had invested nearly $10 billion in Jio Platforms in 2020.