Jio Jackpot | From First Reliance IPO To IPO Of Century: Can Ambani Beat Tata at Scale and Airtel at Telecom?

The Jio IPO is finally here, and the hype is just on another level. Investors, companies and mutual funds are expected to bet big on Jio Platforms Limited, which will be the Indian primary market next week. Jio has emerged as the mother of all IPOs with an issue size of Rs 30,213 crore. The telecom behemoth is likely to rewrite India Inc's power rankings for billionaire Mukesh Ambani.

Jio IPO: The Blockbuster Initial Public Offering

The IPO is entirely a fresh issue of 27 crore equity shares worth Rs 30,213 crore. It opens for subscription on October 21, 2026, and closes on October 23. The price band is Rs 1,065-Rs 1,119 per share, with a minimum lot of 12 shares. At the upper price band, retail investors need at least Rs 13,428 to apply.

Of the issue size, 50% is reserved for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs), including foreign institutional investors, mutual funds, banks, insurers and NBFCs. Non-institutional investors (NIIs) get 35%, while retail investors are allotted the remaining 15%.

As this is a fresh issue, existing shareholders, including Meta and Google, are not selling their stakes. The entire proceeds will go to Reliance.

The proceeds will be used to fully or partly repay outstanding borrowings of Jio's material subsidiary, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJIL), and for general corporate purposes.

Through the IPO, Jio Platforms, Managing Director Akash Ambani said, their goal is to become debt-free.

"We have almost $3 billion of net debt on our books. The full proceeds take us to be a net debt-free company, and the growth capital is something that will flow from our revenues," said Akash during the IPO press conference.

"We have the most affordable plans in India, and we have the price lever that we can always play. But our first endeavour is to deliver more services to our users and extract value that our competitors have left," he added.

Allotment status is expected on October 26, shares will be credited to successful applicants on October 27, and listing is expected on October 28, 2026.

Jio shares will list on both the BSE and NSE.

Jio IPO: The Mother of All IPOs

At Rs 30,213 crore, Jio's IPO becomes India's largest, surpassing Hyundai's Rs 27,859 crore issue by Rs 2,354 crore.

India's top IPOs have raised around Rs 1.75 lakh crore so far. LIC ranks third at Rs 20,557 crore, followed by Paytm at Rs 18,300 crore and Tata Capital at Rs 15,512 crore.

The Reliance Wealth Story Behind Jio's IPO: A Tale That Began in 1977

Jio's eye-popping valuation traces its roots to 1977, when Dhirubhai Ambani launched Reliance Textile Industries' IPO.

Priced at just Rs 10 a share, the IPO was oversubscribed 7.19 times and raised Rs 2.8 crore, fueling Reliance's growth when stock market investment was far less accessible in that era than currently.

Investors who bought shares in 1977 have seen their wealth multiply. A Rs 1,000 investment in Reliance's IPO would be worth around Rs 52 lakh today, including shares received through the Jio Financial Services demerger.

Accordingly, Dhirubhai Ambani laid the foundation for the Reliance empire that followed. The Jio IPO will be another cornerstone for Dhirubhai Ambani's son Mukesh.

Jio Goes Public, Mukesh Ambani Goes Bigger

The estimated valuation for Jio Platforms upon going public is expected to range between Rs 10 lakh crore to Rs 12 lakh crore. At the upper price band, Jio's pre-IPO valuation is around Rs 10.30 lakh crore. However, many are projecting the valuation could rise above Rs 11 lakh crore post-listing. The highest estimated valuation is around Rs 12.36 lakh crore on BSE and NSE.

Either way, if Jio lists at Rs 10.30 lakh crore market capitalization, Mukesh Ambani's Reliance would easily become the biggest business of India, a title which is currently held by Tata Group.

Veteran banker Uday Kotak said, "The RIL group, after Jio's listing, will be India's largest conglomerate basis listed market cap."

Ambani To Beat Tata In Scale:

As of October 15, 2026, Reliance Industries' market cap stood at Rs 16.55 lakh crore, while Jio Financial Services held Rs 1.44 lakh crore m-cap. This totals the group's valuation to Rs 18 lakh crore.

Opposite Reliance, the Tata Group of companies listed on BSE and NSE, holds a market capitalisation of approximately Rs 25-26 lakh crore. The Tatas lead over Reliance by Rs 7-8 lakh crore. The Adani Group is not in the picture because the Gautam Adani-backed ports-to-power empire has a market capitalisation of Rs 17.48 lakh crore as of October 15, 2026.

The Jio IPO will be the gamechanger in terms of supremacy in India. If Jio's valuation stays at Rs 10.30 lakh crore on listing day, Reliance Industries Group will hold a combined market valuation of Rs 28.3 lakh crore, surpassing the Tatas by Rs 2.8 lakh crore. The gap between Ambani and Adani will become Rs 10.8 lakh crore.

Noteworthily, it is plausible how Jio will shift the balance of conglomerates for Reliance, but can it overtake its own biggest rival, Bharti Airtel?

Jio vs Airtel

Jio's stardom will most likely not be enough for the company to take over its biggest rival Airtel. Opposite Jio's Rs 10.30 lakh crore valuation, the Sunil Mittal-backed Bharti Airtel holds a market capitalisation of nearly Rs 11.6 lakh crore. To outrun Airtel, Jio will need to surpass Rs 11.57 lakh crore mark or wish for Airtel to fall to its own level.

Should You Bet on Jio IPO?

"At Rs 1,119, FY26 P/E of 33.3x is ~18% below Bharti Airtel's 40.71x, ~12x EV/EBITDA multiple as reasonable relative to Jio's higher market share, double-digit EBITDA growth rate, and dominant home broadband expansion. However, Jio commands a 15-17% multiple premium over Bharti Airtel's India business. Airtel offers superior Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) and higher current ARPU," analysts at Swastika Investmart said in their preview note.

They added that investors should focus on the industry's structural health, noting that tariff discipline among Jio, Airtel and Vodafone Idea has created favourable conditions for further ARPU hikes.

Swastika's analysts recommended "SUBSCRIBE", citing Jio's role in India's digital economy, cash generation, declining leverage and growing home broadband adoption.

Jio has 533.3 million customers and accounts for 60% of India's wireless data traffic. Jio Platforms is Reliance Industries' digital and telecom arm. Through Reliance Jio Infocomm, it operates India's largest mobile network and is also the country's largest home broadband provider through JioFiber and JioAirFiber.

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