Sensex slides 15% this year amid US-Iran war energy shock
Jio Platforms, the telecom unit of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, is offering 270 million shares priced at 1,065 to 1,119 rupees each, the company said late Wednesday. At the top of that range, the deal would raise about 302 billion rupees, equivalent to $3.18 billion. Reliance said the IPO could value Jio at as much as $108 billion.
That raise would surpass the 278.70 billion rupees brought in by Hyundai Motor’s India unit in 2024, which has stood as the country’s largest listing. Citi, BofA Securities, and Morgan Stanley are among the banks acting as lead managers on the Jio offering.
Owned by Mukesh Ambani, one of Asia’s richest people, Jio reported 533.3 million subscribers as of June 30. The company accounts for nearly 60% of India’s data traffic, in a country with a population of more than 1.4 billion. For the fiscal year ended March 31, Jio booked revenue from operations of 1.47 trillion rupees and net profit of 300.49 billion rupees, according to the company’s red-herring prospectus. In the quarter ended June 30, revenue was 391.73 billion rupees and net profit was 77.64 billion rupees.
Jio has previously raised capital from a roster of global technology investors. Meta Platforms holds a 9.98% stake in Jio, and Google holds 7.73%. Many of those investments date to 2020.
The offering will run over a five-day window. Bidding for anchor investors is scheduled for Oct. 19, the retail portion opens Oct. 21, and Reliance said the books are expected to close Oct. 23.
Jio is heading to market amid heightened global volatility, driven by the prolonged Middle East conflict, inflation concerns, and growing investor caution toward artificial-intelligence-related stocks. India’s benchmark Sensex has fallen about 15% this year, making it among Asia’s worst-performing markets. India imports nearly 80% of its crude oil requirements, leaving it exposed to the energy shock stemming from the U.S.-Iran war.