Kiran Thomas exits, Pankaj Pawar takes charge as Jio Platforms CEO

Jio Platforms has replaced Kiran Thomas as chief executive officer with Pankaj Pawar ahead of its planned initial public offering, according to the company’s draft IPO papers.

The draft papers, submitted to capital markets regulator Sebi in June, mentioned that Thomas resigned as CEO on March 23, with Pawar taking charge the following day, March 24.

Pawar, 53, also serves as managing director of Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd.

“Pankaj Mohan Pawar, aged 53 years, is the Chief Executive Officer of the Company and also serves as the managing director of Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited. He has been associated with the Reliance Group since 2000, and has close to three decades of experience in building and scaling large consumer and digital services businesses,” the draft IPO papers said.

Thomas, who previously served as president of Reliance Industries, does not feature among Jio Platforms’ key managerial personnel in the draft prospectus, even though he has been visible in each presentation of the company, at every annual general meeting since the launch of the digital services arm of RIL.

According to the draft IPO papers, RIL Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh D Ambani will be on the board of Jio Platforms as Chairman and non-executive director.

Manoj Harjivandas Modi will be on board as non-executive director, and Akash Ambani as managing director of Jio Platforms. His siblings, Isha and Anant, will be on board as non-executive directors.

Jio Platforms seeks to raise about USD 4 billion (Rs 37,700 crore), valuing the company at around USD 137 billion.

According to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP), Jio Platforms plans to issue up to 27 crore new shares, representing about 2.9 per cent of its post-issue equity capital.

The offering marks a milestone for Reliance Industries as it seeks to unlock value from the telecom-to-technology business that has emerged as one of the group’s primary growth engines since its launch in 2016.

The IPO is aimed at unlocking value from Jio Platforms, whose businesses span telecommunications, digital services, enterprise solutions and emerging technology ventures. Its telecom unit, Reliance Jio Infocomm, is the world’s second-largest mobile operator in terms of number of subscribers within a single country, behind China’s China Mobile. Meta and Google are among the companies’ largest foreign investors.

If successful, Jio’s IPO would surpass Hyundai Motor India’s Rs 27,870 crore offering in 2024 to become the largest in the country’s history.

National Stock Exchange (NSE) – the country’s largest bourse and the world’s most active derivatives exchange – has also filed papers to raise as much as USD 3.3 billion through an IPO.

The proposed IPO of Jio Platforms comprises a fresh issue of up to 27 crore shares with a face value of Rs 10 each. The issue price will be determined through a book-building process in accordance with SEBI regulations.

The company did not disclose the price band or the total size of the offering, which will depend on the final issue price and regulatory approvals.

Jio Platforms has previously attracted some of the world’s largest technology and private equity investors. In 2020, the company raised more than USD 20 billion from investors, including Meta, Google, KKR, Silver Lake and General Atlantic, in a fundraising round that valued the business between USD 57 billion and USD 65 billion. PTI