Jio Platforms secures SEBI nod for $3.8 billion IPO

Jio Platforms, the digital services arm of Reliance Industries (RIL), has received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to proceed with an initial public offering (IPO) that could raise around USD 3.8 billion. The offering is set to become India’s largest IPO if it reaches the proposed size.

Sebi issued its final observations on 28 August, according to an update on the regulator’s website. RIL said in a regulatory filing that Jio Platforms had received the observation letter for its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) after filing the IPO papers in June.

Jio Platforms plans to issue up to 27 crore fresh equity shares, representing around 2.9 per cent of its post-issue equity base. The offering could value the company at around USD 137 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

IPO To Surpass Hyundai Listing

At an estimated issue size of around Rs 37,700 crore (USD 3.8 billion), the Jio Platforms offering would surpass Hyundai Motor India’s USD 3.3 billion-equivalent listing in 2024. It would also be larger than the proposed IPO of the National Stock Exchange, which is estimated at around Rs 30,000 crore.

Most of the IPO proceeds will be used to repay or prepay borrowings of Reliance Jio Infocomm, Jio Platforms’ material subsidiary. Around Rs 27,500 crore of outstanding borrowings is proposed to be repaid or prepaid, with the remaining proceeds earmarked for general corporate purposes.

The proposed listing comes amid sustained activity in India’s primary market. More than two dozen IPOs have been announced or launched since 1 July, compared with 28 in the first half of 2026.

Jio Expands Beyond Telecom

Jio Platforms houses Reliance’s digital businesses, including its telecommunications operations through Reliance Jio Infocomm. The telecom business has a 39.29 per cent share of India’s mobile connections, serving around 506 million customers, while its fixed-line market share stands at 32.89 per cent with 157.9 million customers.

Jio Platforms had more than 53.5 crore subscribers as of July-end, making it the world’s second-largest single-country mobile operator by subscriber count after China Mobile. The company also operates the largest 5G Standalone network outside China, with 26.85 crore 5G customers as of June 2026.

Jio leads the global Fixed Wireless Access segment with around 1.5 crore subscribers. The company has also expanded into cloud, artificial intelligence (AI) and enterprise network services, leveraging its telecommunications network and data traffic capacity.

Jio Platforms reported a 15 per cent increase in profit after tax to Rs 30,053 crore in FY26. Revenue rose 14.5 per cent to Rs 1,46,885 crore during the year.

Global Investors Hold Stakes

Jio Platforms has previously attracted investments from major global technology and financial investors. Meta invested Rs 43,574 crore for a 9.99 per cent stake in 2020, while Google invested Rs 33,737 crore for a 7.73 per cent holding.

Other investors, including Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, KKR, Mubadala, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, TPG, L Catterton, the Public Investment Fund, Intel Capital and Qualcomm Ventures, collectively invested around Rs 74,745 crore for roughly a 15.2 per cent stake.

Reliance Industries owns around 66.4 per cent of Jio Platforms. Meta and Google together hold around 17.7 per cent, according to the draft prospectus.

The IPO would mark the first public offering from the Reliance group since 2008 and the first IPO of a consumer-focused business within the conglomerate. Jio Platforms is chaired by Mukesh Ambani, while his eldest son Akash Ambani serves as managing director.