Reliance Jio plans mega IPO with 2.5% float, may dwarf Hyundai Motor India listing: Report

Reliance Jio Platforms is considering launching its long-awaited initial public offering (IPO) later this year, a move that could mark the largest share sale in Indian capital market history. According to a Reuters report, the Mukesh Ambani-led company is looking to float just 2.5% of its equity, potentially raising over $4 billion. 

If executed, the offering would comfortably surpass Hyundai Motor India’s $3.3 billion IPO last year, currently the largest-ever in the country. 

Sources cited by Reuters said Reliance prefers to list only 2.5% of Jio Platforms due to the sheer scale of the business. While India’s market regulator SEBI has proposed reducing the minimum public float requirement for large IPOs from 5% to 2.5%, the proposal is still awaiting approval from the finance ministry, the report added. 

Jefferies, in a November note, pegged Reliance Jio’s valuation at around $180 billion. At that level, a 2.5% stake sale would fetch approximately $4.5 billion, making it the most valuable IPO India has ever seen. 

Reliance Jio is India’s largest telecom operator, serving more than 500 million users, and forms the backbone of Reliance Industries’ digital ambitions. 

Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani had earlier confirmed that Jio Platforms would list in the first half of 2026. He made the announcement while addressing shareholders at Reliance’s 48th annual general meeting in August 2025, putting an end to years of speculation around the IPO timeline. 

The prospect of the listing has sparked strong investor interest, with market participants widely expecting the IPO to set new benchmarks in terms of valuation and issue size. 

Over the past six years, Jio Platforms has significantly expanded beyond telecom into digital services and artificial intelligence. The company has raised capital from marquee global investors such as KKR, General Atlantic, Silver Lake, and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. 

In 2020, global technology giants Google and Facebook-parent Meta invested nearly $20 billion in Jio Platforms at a valuation of $58 billion. Market participants now expect the valuation to have at least doubled since then, unlocking substantial gains for early investors. 

India’s biggest IPO to date remains Hyundai Motor India, which raised over Rs 27,850 crore. It is followed by LIC of India (Rs 21,000 crore), Paytm-parent One97 Communications (Rs 18,300 crore), and Coal India (Rs 15,200 crore). 

With SEBI rules now allowing mega-IPOs to list with a minimum 2.5% public float, a Rs 10 lakh crore-plus listing for Jio Platforms is seen as feasible. The IPO would also provide an exit route for early investors while enabling Reliance to tap global capital markets, potentially drawing strong anchor investor participation and post-listing ETF inflows.