Reliance in talks with Gulf investors to trim stake in the IPO: Indian giant Reliance’s digital arm Jio Platforms — which counts the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia), Mubadala Investment and Saudi Arabia PIF as shareholders — has been in discussions with 13 foreign investors to sell down small fractions of existing equity ahead during the upcoming IPO, Reuters reports, citing sources it says are familiar with the matter.
Each investor could divest roughly 8% of their holdings, which collectively would represent about 2.5% of Jio Platforms’ total shares in the offering, based on the newswire’s calculations. However, final sale percentages remain subject to change.
Currently, Mubadala holds 1.85% of the company, while Adia owns 1.16%. If Adia were to sell 8% of its 1.16% stake, it would still be left with a c.1.1% stake in the company, while an 8% sale of Mubadala’s 1.85% stake would leave it with about 1.7% of the company, according to our calculations.
The IPO is expected to follow an offer-for-sale structure, a common approach in India where existing shareholders sell their shares to the public without the company raising fresh capital. None of the existing investors want to fully exit the company. While final details on the numbers and valuations are yet to be determined, previous estimates valued Jio Platforms at around USD 180 bn, with the IPO potentially raising up to USD 4 bn.