Bankers said to see Reliance’s Jio value as high as $170 billion

Core Viewpoint - Jio Platforms Ltd. is preparing for a potential initial public offering (IPO) with a proposed valuation ranging from $130 billion to $170 billion, which could position it among the largest companies in India by market capitalization [1][6]. Group 1: Valuation and Market Position - Investment bankers are proposing a valuation for Jio that could place it among the top two or three companies in India, ahead of Bharti Airtel Ltd., which is valued at approximately Rs 12.7 trillion ($143 billion) [1][6]. - Reliance Industries, controlled by Mukesh Ambani, has a market capitalization of about Rs 20 trillion [1][6]. Group 2: IPO Details and Regulations - The Jio IPO is expected to be Reliance's first public offering of a major business unit since Reliance Petroleum Ltd.'s debut in 2006 [2][6]. - The IPO could raise over $6 billion, although this amount may be lower due to changes in Indian listing regulations, which require companies with a post-listing market capitalization exceeding 5 trillion rupees to offer shares worth at least 150 billion rupees and dilute only 2.5% of equity [5][6]. - If Jio achieves the top-end valuation proposal, the share offering would amount to approximately $4.3 billion [5][6]. Group 3: Subscriber Base and Revenue - As of the end of September, Jio had approximately 506 million subscribers, with an average revenue per user (ARPU) of Rs 211.4 [6]. - In comparison, Bharti Airtel had about 450 million subscribers and an ARPU of Rs 256 [6].