Jio Platforms may offload another 8% stake

Kolkata: Reliance Jio Infocomm’s parent Jio Platforms could potentially offload another 8 per cent stake to strategic financial investors on the heels of recent deals with US private equity (PE) firm Silver Lake and social media giant Facebook, analysts said.

Another mega stake sale along the lines of the recent $5.7-billion deal with Facebook would bolster Jio’s balance sheet, reduce its dependence on an initial public offer (IPO) for future cash infusions and give it a first-mover advantage over rivals Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea in aggressively buying 5G airwaves in the next sale, analysts said. “We see room for further 8 per cent stake sale in line with (Reliance Industries) management commentary (timing unknown),” said brokerage BofA Securities in a note. Any incremental cash coming into Jio would boost the telco’s balance sheet and help it renew its 850 MHz airwave holdings and also buy 5G spectrum, BofA Securities said. “We see room for Jio to have first mover advantage in 5G,” BofA added.