Jio IPO: Reliance Picks Lead Bankers, Awaits Sebi Nod on Listing Norms

Reliance Jio Infocomm’s head of strategy, Anshuman Thakur, said on Friday that the company is awaiting regulatory clarity before initiating the listing process for the telecom giant. However, a report now claims that the lead bankers for the issue have already been shortlisted.

The oil-to-retail conglomerate is set to list its digital and telecom arm, Jio Platforms, in the first half of 2026. According to a report by the Economic Times (ET), the IPO will be led by American investment banking majors Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.

However, the report has not been officially confirmed.

During the post-earnings call of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, Thakur told analysts that internal work on the IPO was underway, but execution would begin only after regulatory clarity.

The clarification he referred to relates to a consultation paper floated by market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in August, proposing changes to norms on minimum public shareholding and minimum public offer size.

Under the proposal, very large companies meeting specified market capitalisation thresholds could go ahead with an IPO by diluting as little as 2.5% of their equity, compared with the current 5% requirement. The paper also proposed giving such companies a longer timeframe to comply with the mandated 25% minimum public shareholding under Sebi rules.

“We are working on the assumption that it is in line with whatever Sebi has recommended, but we will still have to wait for that before we finalise and then start the process,” he said, adding that the listing could take place in the next few months.

According to various market estimates, the company is expected to be valued between $133 billion and $182 billion, with the IPO size likely to exceed $4 billion.

In Q3 FY26, Reliance Jio delivered standalone revenue growth of about 2.8% quarter-on-quarter and 11.8% year-on-year, driven by a marginal increase in ARPU and nearly 9 million net subscriber additions. EBITDA grew 2.7% sequentially and 14.6% annually to ₹17,740 crore, although margins edged down slightly to 54.2%. Incremental EBITDA margin stood at around 52.5%, below estimates. Meanwhile, growth in Jio Platforms’ non-mobility business moderated, with revenue and EBITDA rising by about 1% and 1.4% quarter-on-quarter, respectively.

The ET report, citing market watchers, expects the IPO to include a balanced mix of fresh equity issuance and secondary share sales. Several private equity backers, such as KKR, TPG, Silver Lake and Vista Equity Partners, are likely to pare their holdings as part of the listing. In contrast, strategic investors Google and Meta are expected to retain their existing stakes, while Intel, which owns around 0.7%, may explore a limited stake sale.

Jio Platforms had raised nearly $20 billion from 13 global investors in 2020, selling about 33% of its equity. The capital infusion helped the company eliminate net debt. Among the strategic investors, Alphabet invested roughly $4.5 billion for a 7.73% stake, while Meta Platforms invested about $5.7 billion for a 9.99% holding.