The IPO of Mukesh Ambani’s telecom and digital-services business is expected to launch next week, according to a Bloomberg report. For this, global and local investors are lining up and the Jio platform has received over $20 billion in bids. According to a Bloomberg report, global investors such as Fidelity, Allianz and Capital Group, as well as other foreign and domestic institutions, have also shown interest in the Oring. The final list of anchor investors is expected to be decided in the coming days, although the process is still ongoing and no final decision has been taken.

This strong interest is seen as Jio’s valuation has been revised from earlier more aggressive expectations. Jio Platforms is now targeting a valuation of Rs 10.3 lakh crore, or around $106 billion, after an initial estimate of $170 billion, according to an earlier Reuters report.

At the upper end of the expected price band, Jio’s IPO will be around Rs. 30,200 crores can be raised. Along with this, in 2024, Hyundai Motor India’s Rs. 27,900 crore issue and will become the largest IPO in the history of the Indian market.

Reliance Jio IPO Probable Dates and Listing

The issue is expected to open next week and before October 30. A formal price band is yet to be announced. Reports suggest that Jio per share will be worth Rs. 1,065-1,119 could set the issue price, which means the value is around Rs. 10.3 lakh crore will be.

It is expected that this IPO will be a completely new issue. This means existing investors, including Meta Platforms, Alphabet’s Google, Mubadala and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, are not expected to sell shares in the offering. This structure also means that the proceeds will go to the Jio platform instead of existing shareholders.

Jio’s announcement has been the biggest event in India’s primary market this year. The company manages the telecom and digital business of Reliance Industries, which includes services such as mobile services, fixed broadband, cloud, entertainment, enterprise technology and artificial intelligence. It is headed by Akash Ambani, son of Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani and Managing Director of Jio Platforms.

According to a Bloomberg report, Akash Ambani has been holding meetings with investors in Hong Kong, London and New York in recent weeks. Jio is being introduced as just a telecom operator. Reliance wants to establish it as a major technology and digital infrastructure platform. But the market will gauge its valuation against telecom cash flow, average revenue per user, earnings from 5G, broadband growth and its ability to build profitable digital services beyond connectivity.

There has been a stir in the gray market

Ahead of the launch, the buzz in the gray market has also increased. In informal trade, per share around Rs. A premium of 170-180 is quoted, which is about 15-16 per cent higher than the likely upper limit of the reported price band. Gray market prices are unofficial and can change rapidly as the final details of the price band, anchor book and issue are announced.

This valuation is much higher than Jio’s 2020 private fundraising round. Most of the financial and sovereign investors have invested around Rs. 4.91 lakh crore at an equity valuation, while Google invested around Rs. 4.36 lakh crore invested at an equity valuation of Rs. The proposed IPO valuation is more than double those levels, although it is lower than earlier expectations.

Brokerage firms have estimated Jio’s value at Rs. 10 lakh crore to Rs. 11 lakh crore is in the range. Motilal Oswal valued the Jio platform at around Rs. 11 lakh crore, while Nomura has Rs. 9.8 lakh crore to Rs. The IPO equity value has been kept in the range of 10.3 lakh crore.