Understanding Project Jupiter: Inside Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Efforts for Jio’s Major IPO
Project Jupiter, the internal initiative by Reliance Industries to prepare Jio Platforms Ltd for its initial public offering (IPO), is set to become the largest IPO in Indian stock market history. At the annual general meeting in August, Mukesh Ambani announced that Jio aims to debut in the first half of 2026. Nine months later, he confirmed that the company was ready for its public listing and had submitted its draft prospectus.
Project Jupiter
According to a Bloomberg report, Reliance worked closely with regulators to secure more flexibility in IPO rules and encouraged key investors to divest their holdings. The project, code-named Project Jupiter, was kept confidential and involved only a select group of senior executives and top investment bankers. Key documents were circulated in printed form to minimize digital records, and email communication was limited.
Reliance initiated Project Jupiter in October, overseen by senior executives including Chief Financial Officer V. Srikanth and Jio executive Anshuman Thakur. Kotak Mahindra Capital Co. and Morgan Stanley were the first investment banks engaged, with their roles expanding in December. This arrangement allowed advisers to assist with the deal while its structure was still being finalized.
One of the critical tasks was obtaining consent from existing investors like KKR & Co., Meta Platforms Inc., and Alphabet Inc. These shareholders agreed to dilute around 8% of their stakes, enabling Jio to meet the minimum public shareholding requirement without altering their relative ownership. The regulatory environment also became more favorable when India’s market regulator relaxed minimum public shareholding norms in September.
Jio IPO
The IPO will be Reliance Group’s first since Reliance Petroleum went public in 2006. Jio will issue 27 crore equity shares with a face value of Rs 10 each, resulting in a 2.9% dilution of equity. This aligns with the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s revised framework, which allows companies with a post-listing market capitalization of over Rs 5 lakh crore to dilute only 2.5% at the time of listing.
Mukesh Ambani described the public issue as a significant milestone for value creation and noted that the listing process is being led by his children. Reliance Industries holds a 66% stake in Jio, which has transformed India’s telecom sector since its launch in 2016. Jio Platforms, backed by major investors, is expected to be valued at over $100 billion, positioning it among India’s most valuable listed companies.
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