Reliance Industries appears to be playing hardball with investment banks as it prepares for the massive public offering of Jio Platforms. While most companies pay a premium to attract top tier financial advisors during an initial public offering, Jio has taken a drastically different approach by significantly limiting the fees paid to its underwriting team. The company has allocated just 196.2 crore rupees to be shared among nineteen lead managers, representing a mere fraction of the total deal value.

This frugal strategy becomes even more apparent when compared to other recent mega listings in the Indian market. For instance, Hyundai Motor India recently paid out 493 crore rupees to only five book running lead managers for its own debut. Despite the fact that Jios offering is roughly eight percent larger than Hyundai’s was, the payout to its banking partners is nearly sixty percent lower. In percentage terms, while Hyundai paid around 1.77 percent of its issue size in fees, Jio is paying only 0.65 percent.

Industry analysts suggest this disparity highlights the immense leverage and brand equity that Reliance holds within the domestic ecosystem. Because a Jio IPO is seen as a trophy mandate that every major bank wants on their resume regardless of the cost, the company can dictate terms that would be unthinkable for smaller firms. By splitting a relatively small fee pool across such a large group of managers, Reliance is effectively maximizing its distribution reach without breaking the bank on advisory costs.