Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Platforms sets October 21 launch for $3.8 billion IPO

Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Platforms plans to launch its initial public offering on October 21, targeting about $3.8 billion in what would become India’s biggest listing, according to two people familiar with the matter

The shares are expected to begin trading on October 28, marking a major step toward the public listing of one of Ambani’s most valuable businesses.

At about $3.8 billion, Jio Platforms’ offering would surpass Hyundai Motor India’s $2.9 billion IPO in 2024, currently India’s largest. It would also exceed the $2.3 billion raised by the National Stock Exchange of India in its market debut last month. 

The IPO is expected to consist of newly issued shares, with most of the proceeds earmarked to repay debt owed by Reliance Jio Infocomm, Jio Platforms’ telecom subsidiary. The company also operates businesses spanning artificial intelligence, cloud computing and enterprise networks. 

Jio Platforms received regulatory clearance in August after filing its draft prospectus with India’s Securities and Exchange Board in June. The proposed issue covers up to 270 million shares, representing about 2.9% of the company’s post-issue share capital. 

The planned offering follows Jio’s investor meetings across major financial centres as Ambani’s group prepares the business for its public-market debut. Billionaires.Africa previously reported in September that Jio had begun investor meetings ahead of a planned November listing, with bankers valuing the business at as much as $180 billion. 

The latest timetable represents a significant acceleration from that earlier November target. Reuters reported that the sources were not authorised to speak publicly and declined to comment, while Reliance Industries did not respond to its request for comment. 

Jio Platforms counts Meta and Google among its major foreign investors and has expanded beyond telecommunications into digital services, artificial intelligence, cloud and enterprise networking.

If completed at the reported size, the IPO would strengthen Ambani’s strategy of unlocking value from Reliance Industries’ major businesses while giving public-market investors direct exposure to Jio Platforms.