Reliance's Jio sets IPO price band, offering ~$3.4B in fresh shares
What's the deal? Jio Platforms, the digital and telecom arm of India's Reliance IndustriesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, has set a price band of US$14.5 to US$15.2 per share for its IPO. The offering opens for subscription on October 21 and closes October 23, with up to 27 crore fresh equity shares on sale — about US$4.1B, or roughly $3.4 billion, at the top of the band. CNBC put the fresh issue at up to $3.2 billion (US$4.1B).
How does the valuation stack up? At the top of the band, Jio Platforms is valued at around $108 billion — much lower than previously expected and below rival Bharti AirtelDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s $117.5 billion market capitalisation, despite Jio positioning itself as a tech platform rather than a traditional telecom utility. India's Prime Database had estimated the company would raise around US$5.12B through the offering. The sale is still India's largest IPO ever in rupee terms — US$4.1B at the top of the band, about 8% above Hyundai Motor India's US$3.78B IPO in 2024 — though it ranks second in dollar terms behind Hyundai's $3.3 billion raise. Meta's Jaadhu Holdings affiliate (nearly 10%) and Google (7.7%) are not selling any of their stakes in the offering.
Why now? The price band follows a months-long regulatory process: Jio filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus on June 19, 2026, received an observation letter from the Securities and Exchange Board of India on August 28, and filed its Red Herring Prospectus on October 14. Anchor investors — large institutions that commit ahead of the public offering — will bid on October 19.
What's the endgame? The IPO is a major step toward listing Jio Platforms, which houses Reliance's digital and telecommunications businesses.
Who gets a cut? Jio has reserved shares worth up to US$339.5M for eligible Reliance Industries shareholders and up to US$67.9M for eligible employees. Employees bidding under their reserved portion get a discount of US$0.73 per share. The minimum bid lot is 12 shares.
The satcom angle: Jio Platforms also plans to roll out satellite communications services in India, building a network of roughly 1,600 low-Earth-orbit satellites and 23 ground stations. That puts it at the center of a public spat between Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani and Starlink's Elon Musk, who has accused Ambani of blocking Starlink's launch in India to protect his "monopolistic exploitation" of the market.
The signal: A listing of Jio would mark one of India's largest public offerings and give retail investors direct exposure to the country's biggest telecom and digital operator, long held inside Reliance's sprawling empire — though the valuation suggests investors still see a telco, not the tech platform Jio wants to be seen as.
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