Reliance Moves Forward with Jio IPO, Lines Up Six Banks after Govt Tweaks Listing Norms

Reliance Industries is moving closer to listing its telecom giant Jio Platforms on the stock market, and the preparations are now firmly underway. The company is working with six banks to manage the share sale, with more expected to join soon, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The six banks appointed so far are BofA Securities, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JM Financial, Kotak Mahindra Capital and Morgan Stanley.

If it goes ahead as planned, the Jio listing could become the largest initial public offering in Indian history. It would also be the first time a major unit of Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries has gone public in nearly two decades, making it a landmark moment for India's capital markets.

One key reason the IPO is now gaining momentum is a recent regulatory change. The government amended its listing rules to allow large companies to offer as little as 2.5% of their shares to the public, down from the earlier requirement of 5%. This gives Reliance far greater flexibility in how much of Jio it needs to sell.

Reports have previously estimated Jio Platforms to be worth as much as $170 billion. At the minimum 2.5% dilution, the company could still raise approximately $4.3 billion, or roughly ₹36,000 crore from the offering.

Once the final terms are agreed upon, Reliance will file a draft prospectus with market regulator Sebi to formally kick off the public listing process. Bloomberg noted that the terms and timeline of the offering could still change.

The new development in Jio's IPO chapter comes just days after National Stock Exchange (NSE) appointed banks for its landmark listing.

Last week, NSE announced the finalisation of 20 merchant bankers, eight law firms and several specialist advisers to manage the transaction.

The 20 merchant bankers selected to run the IPO include leading domestic and global institutions such as Kotak Mahindra Capital Company, JM Financial, Axis Capital, ICICI Securities, SBI Capital Markets, Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors, IIFL Capital Services, Nuvama Wealth Management, Avendus Capital, HDFC Bank, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, HSBC, IDBI Capital Markets, 360 ONE WAM, Anand Rathi Advisors, DAM Capital Advisors, Pantomath Capital Advisors and Equirus Capital.

Eight law firms will advise on legal and regulatory aspects of the offering, including Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, Khaitan & Co, Latham & Watkins, Sidley Austin, AZB & Partners, S&R Associates, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co and Trilegal.

Other intermediaries involved in the process include registrar MUFG Intime India and advisory firms Makarand M Joshi & Company, Manian & Rao, RBSA Advisors, Concept Communication and Redseer Strategy Consultants.

The appointment process was overseen by Rothschild & Co’s India arm as process adviser and has now formally concluded.