Reliance Jio IPO would be launched in 2025, the unit listing would be kept for later
Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani is targeting a Mumbai stock exchange listing in 2025 for his telecom firm Jio, valued by analysts at over $100 billion (about Rs. 8,41,090 crore), and plans to launch the IPO of its retail unit much later, they said. two people familiar with the case. Reuters.
Reliance Industries boss Ambani has not updated his IPO timelines after saying in 2019 that Reliance Jio and Reliance Retail would “go for a listing” within five years.
In recent years, Ambani, Asia’s richest man, has collectively raised $25 billion (approximately Rs. 2,10,272 crore) for digital, telecom and retail businesses from the likes of KKR, General Atlantic and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, with both firms at over $100 were valued. billion (approximately Rs. 8,41,090 crore).
The two sources said Reliance has now confirmed plans to launch the Reliance Jio IPO in 2025 as it internally believes it has achieved stable business and revenue streams by becoming India’s largest telecom player with 479 million subscribers.
But the retail IPO is not expected until after 2025 as the company must first address a number of internal business and operational challenges, the first source said.
Oil-to-retail conglomerate Reliance Industries did not respond to a request for comment.
Reliance Jio will take on Elon Musk when he launches its Starlink internet service in India, and Jio, which is also backed by Google and Meta, has teamed up with Nvidia to develop AI infrastructure.
The sources said no internal decision has been made on Reliance Jio’s valuation and no bankers have been appointed yet, but Jefferies in July estimated the company’s estimated IPO valuation at $112 billion (about Rs. 9,42,021 crore ).
However, Reliance aims for the Jio IPO to be India’s largest ever by 2025, overtaking Hyundai India’s record $3.3 billion (about Rs. 27,756 crore) IPO this year, the first source said.
Both sources, who declined to be named because the discussions are private, said timelines for the IPO could still change.
Indian markets have recently hit record highs and as of October, 270 companies had raised $12.58 billion (approximately Rs. 1,05,809 crore) through Indian IPOs this year, eclipsing the $7.42 billion (approximately Rs. 62,408 crore) in all of 2023 .
Retail repairs needed
Reliance’s current thinking is not to launch the retail unit in the same year as JIO as it does not want to come to the market with two major IPOs around the same time, both sources said.
More importantly, the first source said, there are “operational issues” that Reliance wants to resolve internally at the retail unit, which runs India’s largest supermarket network of 3,000 supermarkets, before proceeding with an initial public offering.
The company has grown ‘too fast’ and has ventured into various retail formats, including e-commerce, and some of its physical stores have posted losses over the years, leading to less than ideal profit per square meter of space, the person said. .
Reliance Retail’s empire includes fashion, grocery and electronics stores, and it has ventured into e-commerce in recent years to take on Amazon. It is now expanding into faster deliveries to capitalize on the boom in express commerce: a new shopping craze that delivers products within 10 minutes.
It reported a 1.1 percent year-on-year sales decline in July-September, its first quarterly sales decline in at least three years, as competition from fast-paced commercial startups eroded its share of supermarket sales.
Bernstein last year valued the company, which owns toy retailer Hamleys and has forged partnerships in India with brands such as Jimmy Choo, Marks & Spencer and Pret A Manger, at $112 billion (about Rs. 9,42,021 crore).
Jio Platforms, which houses the telecom and digital businesses, is 33 percent owned by foreign investors, having raised $17.84 billion (about Rs. 1,50,050 crore) in recent years. Reliance Retail sold about 12 percent stake to foreign investors during the same period and raised $7.44 billion (about Rs. 62,577 crore).
© Thomson Reuters 2024
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
