Reliance Files DRHP for Jio IPO; Valuation Seen at $115-130B

At its annual general meeting on Monday, Reliance Industries filed a draft red herring prospectus for an initial public offering of Jio Platforms. The proposal includes a fresh issue of up to 27 crore shares, equivalent to about a 3% equity dilution, with proceeds earmarked mainly to reduce Jio Platforms’ debt.

Jio launched commercially in September 2016 and has grown into India’s largest digital platform, serving more than 525 million subscribers. Earlier private funding rounds brought in over $20 billion from global investors including Meta, Google, Silver Lake, KKR and General Atlantic. Private fundraising valued Jio Platforms between $58 billion and $65 billion; current market estimates for a public valuation generally range from about $115 billion to $130 billion.

Reliance’s stock rose more than 2% during trading after the AGM, before settling 1.6% higher at Rs 1,330.50 by 2:40 pm IST. Brokerages reacted with positive assessments: Nomura retained a buy rating with a target of Rs 1,640 and estimated Jio’s implied valuation at roughly $117 billion to $127 billion, while Motilal Oswal reiterated a buy and raised its target to Rs 1,655. Some houses warned that a holding-company discount could limit gains to Reliance shareholders despite a strong public valuation for Jio.

Analysts expect Jio to be the main driver of Reliance’s future earnings growth. Motilal Oswal projects digital businesses will account for 80% of incremental EBITDA and forecasts an 18% EBITDA compound annual growth rate for those units between fiscal 2026 and 2028. Factors cited supporting this outlook include a planned roughly 15% wireless tariff increase in the second quarter, continued market share gains, and expansion of home broadband and enterprise services.

Reliance is advancing additional growth areas alongside telecom. Systematix Institutional Research described Reliance Intelligence, the group’s artificial intelligence initiative, as emerging as a fourth growth pillar alongside Telecom, Retail and Energy. The New Energy business is scheduled to begin commercialization in fiscal 2027 with initial solar revenues and battery commissioning, and Reliance Consumer Products Ltd is targeting revenues of ₹1 trillion by fiscal 2030.

Nitin Soni, senior director and head of natural resources for South and Southeast Asia at Fitch Ratings, noted: ‘We do expect ARPU to improve 10 to 15% each year, and at the same time, data consumption per user per month will also increase.’ He highlighted that Jio’s strategy now covers AI, digital platforms and content in addition to traditional telecom services.

Market participants will monitor IPO pricing and how Reliance allocates proceeds to pare Jio’s debt and fund the company’s broader digital, energy and consumer plans. Analysts continue to update valuation models and earnings forecasts as more details on the listing timetable and pricing emerge.