Biggest Ever IPO In India! Not Tata Sons, But Reliance Industries To List Jio On BSE, NSE Soon; Expected Date?

Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani has announced that the highly anticipated IPO of Reliance Jio is set for the first half of 2026. This offering could become the largest in Dalal Street's history. Ambani shared this news with shareholders during the company's annual general meeting, highlighting the significant opportunity it presents for investors.

The upcoming IPO of Reliance Jio is expected to surpass previous records, potentially doubling the size of Hyundai India's public issue from last year. Reports suggest that Jio Infocomm's IPO might be valued at around Rs 52,000 crore, making it the biggest in India and significantly larger than Hyundai India's Rs 28,000 crore IPO.

Impact on Global Investors
This IPO will provide an exit strategy for major global investors like Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc.'s Google, who invested over $20 billion in Reliance's digital venture in 2020. At that time, Jio Platforms was valued at $58 billion, housing Reliance's digital and telecom assets.

Recent changes proposed by Sebi aim to ease listing rules by reducing the mandatory offer size from 5% to 2.5% for companies valued over Rs 5 lakh crore. This adjustment addresses concerns about large supply sizes being too much for Indian markets to handle.

Regulatory Adjustments
Under current regulations, a 5% mandatory float would require Jio's IPO to exceed $6 billion. However, with Sebi's proposal to lower this threshold to 2.5%, the issue size would be reduced to just over $3 billion, making it more manageable.

Citi analysts Saurabh Handa and Prerna Goenka noted that a 5% public offer would result in a share supply exceeding $6 billion, which is substantial for Indian markets. They believe a 2.5% offer would not only reduce supply concerns but also limit holding company discount issues for RIL.

Future Prospects for RIL Shareholders
The separate listings of Reliance Jio and Reliance Retail are expected to be significant catalysts for RIL shares in the near-to-medium term. These listings will unlock value for RIL's 44 lakh shareholders but may lead to a holding company discount after both entities are listed separately.

Nuvama commented that while separate listings of JIO and Retail might attract higher values, they may not have a substantial impact on RIL shareholders due to potential holdco discounts.

Ambani's Vision at AGM
During the AGM, Ambani outlined ambitious plans focusing on five key areas: connecting every Indian through mobile and home broadband, providing digital services to every home, digitising businesses and enterprises across India, leading an AI revolution, and expanding operations internationally.

A new wholly-owned subsidiary named 'Reliance Intelligence' was also announced by Ambani to drive AI initiatives within India. Additionally, partnerships with Google and a joint venture with Meta were revealed during the meeting.

The announcements made at the AGM reflect Reliance's commitment to innovation and growth across various sectors while maintaining its focus on shareholder value creation through strategic initiatives like the upcoming Jio IPO.