Investment bankers are evaluating a potential valuation of up to $170 billion for Jio Platforms Ltd., according to sources familiar with the discussions, ahead of what could be one of India’s largest initial public offerings for Reliance Industries Ltd.’s telecom arm. A valuation in this range would rank Jio among India’s top two or three companies by market capitalization, surpassing Bharti Airtel Ltd., valued at roughly Rs 12.7 lakh crore ($143 billion), though Reliance Industries, led by Mukesh Ambani, remains far ahead at around Rs 20 lakh crore.
Banker discussions are ongoing, with proposed valuations ranging between $130 billion and $170 billion. Ambani, Asia’s richest individual, indicated in August that the IPO could occur in the first half of 2026. The listing has been in consideration since 2019, following major investments from Meta and Alphabet exceeding $10 billion.
Initially expected to raise over $6 billion, the IPO’s size may be reduced under new Indian listing rules, requiring companies with post-listing valuations above Rs 5 lakh crore to sell a minimum of Rs 15,000 crore in shares, diluting only 2.5% of equity. Jio had 506 million subscribers as of September, compared to Bharti Airtel’s 450 million.
