Jio IPO may trigger Reliance’s next big re-rating. Why Religare sees 47% upside

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL)’s planned Rs 30,000 crore IPO of Jio Platforms could do more than create India’s largest-ever public offering. It may force investors to put a transparent market value on billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s digital empire and, in the process, unlock the valuation discount that has weighed on the oil-to-telecom conglomerate for years.

Religare has assigned a target price of Rs 1,696 to Reliance, compared with a current market price of Rs 1,156, implying a potential upside of 46.7%. The brokerage has a “BUY” rating on the stock, arguing that the proposed Jio listing could become a structural catalyst for a broader re-rating of the conglomerate.

The investment case rests on the proposition that once Jio Platforms has an independent public market value, investors may no longer need to rely on opaque estimates of Reliance’s largest growth asset.


“The proposed IPO of Jio Platforms represents far more than a routine liquidity event—it serves as the definitive structural inflection point for group re-rating,” Religare said in its strategic note on Reliance Industries.

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Jio listing could erase holding company discount

Conglomerates typically trade at a holding company discount because investors struggle to independently value their different businesses and assess capital allocation between them. Reliance’s businesses span telecom and digital services, retail, oil-to-chemicals and new energy.

The Jio IPO could change that equation by establishing an independent, quoted price for the group’s largest growth engine. Religare believes that would bring greater transparency to Reliance’s sum-of-the-parts valuation and compress the conglomerate discount.

The planned IPO is being positioned as more than a telecom offering. Jio is being presented to investors as a technology company, with its digital services, cloud and artificial intelligence businesses forming an important part of the long-term narrative.

The issue is expected to be entirely fresh, without an offer-for-sale component. The mega IPO may open for subscription on Oct. 21 and close on Oct. 23, with the anchor book expected to open on Oct. 19 and listing planned for Oct. 28. The details remain subject to change.

At the proposed price band of Rs 1,065-1,119 a share, Jio Platforms could command a market value of as much as Rs 10.3 lakh crore and raise about Rs 30,200 crore at the upper end, according to reports.

Also Read | Jio IPO may be valued at Rs 11 lakh crore: What it means for RIL, Bharti Airtel and telecom stocks

Valuation puts Jio near Bharti’s level

Motilal Oswal Financial Services estimates Jio Platforms could command a valuation of around Rs 11 lakh crore, broadly in line with its assessed value of Rs 11.2 lakh crore.

At that valuation, Jio would trade at about 12 times estimated FY28 enterprise value to EBITDA. That compares with around 10.3 times for Bharti Airtel’s India business at its current market price, excluding Indus Towers.

Nomura’s valuation is more conservative. It estimates Jio’s IPO equity value at Rs 9.8 lakh crore to Rs 10.3 lakh crore at the proposed price band. After adding net debt, spectrum liabilities and lease liabilities, Nomura puts Jio’s enterprise value at around Rs 10.9 lakh crore to Rs 11.4 lakh crore.

That translates into a FY28 EV-to-EBITDA multiple of 10.5 times to 10.9 times—below Nomura’s target multiple of 12 times, but still above Bharti Airtel’s implied valuation.

The valuation comparison will be closely watched because it will establish the market’s first independently determined price for Jio. It will also test whether investors are prepared to value the business as a broader digital and technology platform rather than solely as a telecom operator.

The IPO could also strengthen Jio’s balance sheet. Up to Rs 27,500 crore of the net primary issue proceeds is earmarked for the prepayment or repayment of borrowings at Reliance Jio, according to the DRHP.

Religare expects the debt reduction to lower interest costs, expand net profit margins and accelerate free cash flow conversion. A stronger Jio balance sheet would also improve cash accruals to the parent company, adding another layer to the re-rating argument.

Jio has already moved beyond its earlier capital-heavy telecom rollout phase, according to the brokerage. With much of the heavy 5G network spending completed, its capital intensity is expected to moderate.

The earnings drivers identified by Religare include a steady ARPU trajectory, 4G-to-5G premiumisation, rising data usage and enterprise cloud and AI services.

Jio reported FY26 revenue from operations of Rs 1,46,885 crore, EBITDA of Rs 76,255 crore at a 51.9% margin and net profit of Rs 30,049 crore. Its active subscriber base stood at more than 524 million.

Reliance’s other engines remain part of the story

The Jio IPO is not the only component of Reliance’s Reliance thesis. The brokerage argues that investors buying Reliance ahead of the listing would gain exposure to Jio’s price discovery while retaining participation in the group’s other businesses, including Reliance Retail, oil-to-chemicals and new energy.

Reliance Retail’s growth levers include store expansion, digital commerce and operating leverage. The oil-to-chemicals business provides a cash flow anchor through integrated refining and petrochemical operations, while the new energy ecosystem offers longer duration potential through planned giga factory rollouts in solar, storage and hydrogen.

Religare’s timeline divides the potential catalysts into three phases. In the next six months, the Jio IPO filing and institutional anchor allocation could establish a visible sum-of-the-parts floor for Reliance. Over the following six to 18 months, ARPU increases and debt reduction could drive EBITDA and net-profit expansion. Over 18 to 36 months, retail operating leverage and the scaling of new energy could support a wider group re-rating.

Why timing matters

Religare’s argument is that the market may begin pricing in the Jio catalyst before the actual listing. “Institutional equity markets consistently discount major corporate catalysts well before formal execution,” the brokerage said, warning that waiting for the debut trading day could mean missing the first leg of any multiple expansion.

That is central to the report’s recommendation to accumulate Reliance at current levels and on market-driven corrections.

The proposed listing could therefore mark a turning point for Reliance’s valuation architecture. For decades, investors have had to estimate Jio's value within a complex conglomerate structure. A public listing would replace those estimates with a market price.


(Disclaimer: This article has been written by Nikhil Agarwal, who is not a SEBI-registered Research Analyst or an Investment Adviser. Nikhil Agarwal and his/her ‘relative(s)’ (as defined under Section 2(77) of the Companies Act, 2013) do not hold any financial interest in the companies mentioned in this article as of the date of publication. The views/recommendations mentioned in this article, wherever applicable, are those of the respective SEBI-registered Research Analyst/brokerage and have been reproduced/reported with due attribution. They should not be construed as the views or recommendations of The Economic Times Digital or the journalist. Readers are advised to consider the original research report and make their investment decisions based on their own assessment. Brokerage disclaimershere