Reliance’s Jio Platforms gets Sebi nod to launch India’s biggest IPO

Reliance Industries’ digital and telecom arm Jio Platforms has received the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi) observation for its proposed initial public offering (IPO), clearing a key regulatory hurdle for what could become India’s largest-ever public issue.

Reliance Industries said in an exchange filing that its subsidiary, Jio Platforms Limited (JPL), received the observation letter on August 28 for the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) filed with Sebi. JPL had filed the DRHP on June 19, 2026, after chairman Mukesh Ambani announced plans for the listing at RIL’ 49th annual general meeting.

“Jio Platforms Limited (JPL), subsidiary of the Company, has today, i.e., August 28, 2026, received the observation letter on the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) filed for its proposed Initial Public Offer from the Securities and Exchange Board of India,” it said in the filing last evening.

The IPO will entirely comprise a fresh issue of up to 27 crore equity shares with a face value of ₹10 each. Jio Platforms has not yet disclosed the final issue size, but market estimates peg the offering at ₹37,700 crore, potentially making it the biggest IPO in India.

Unlike several large public offerings, the issue will not have an offer-for-sale (OFS) component. Existing investors, including Reliance Industries, Meta, Google, KKR, Silver Lake and sovereign wealth funds, will therefore not sell their holdings through the IPO.

The IPO will mark a major milestone for Reliance Industries, which held a 66.43% stake in Jio Platforms as of March 31, 2026. Since the offering consists entirely of fresh shares, the listing is not expected to materially alter Reliance’s control over the company.

Debt repayment to be key use of IPO proceeds

A substantial portion of the funds raised will be used to strengthen Jio’s balance sheet. According to the DRHP, the company plans to deploy up to ₹27,500 crore of the net IPO proceeds towards repayment and prepayment of borrowings at Reliance Jio Infocomm (RJIL), its key operating subsidiary.

Jio Platforms said the proposed debt reduction would lower net debt and associated servicing costs, while improving net leverage and its financial position.

RJIL has raised debt through multiple borrowing arrangements, including term loans and external commercial borrowings from domestic and overseas lenders. The borrowings identified for potential prepayment include loans from Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, Bank of America, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citibank, DBS Bank, HSBC, Mizuho Bank, MUFG Bank and Standard Chartered, among others.

The company said the final borrowings selected for repayment would depend on factors including maturity schedules, borrowing costs, interest rates, foreign-exchange considerations, regulatory requirements and prepayment terms.

Jio eyes 5G, AI and digital expansion

The proposed deleveraging comes after a significant improvement in Jio’s balance sheet in recent years. Its net leverage ratio declined from 0.88 times in FY24 to 0.71 times in FY25 and further to 0.36 times in FY26.

Jio Platforms said a stronger balance sheet would provide greater flexibility to raise additional resources for future business opportunities. The company plans to continue investing in areas such as 5G network expansion and densification, fixed broadband, artificial intelligence and cloud services, enterprise digital solutions and international technology partnerships.

Jio has emerged as India’s largest telecom operator since disrupting the market nearly a decade ago. Its subscriber base increased to 524.4 million at the end of FY26 from 488.2 million a year earlier.

Financial performance has also strengthened. Revenue from operations rose to ₹1.47 lakh crore in FY26 from ₹1.28 lakh crore in FY25 and ₹1.10 lakh crore in FY24. Profit after tax increased to ₹30,049 crore from ₹26,109 crore and ₹21,423 crore over the same periods.

Jio Platforms generated EBITDA of ₹76,255 crore in FY26, translating into an EBITDA margin of 51.9%.

Apart from debt repayment, Jio Platforms plans to use a portion of the IPO proceeds for general corporate purposes. Such utilisation will be capped at 25% of the gross proceeds, according to the DRHP.