Reliance’s Jio platforms seeks Sebi nod for $4 billion IPO
MUMBAI: Jio Platforms, the digital arm of Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries, has filed draft listing papers with the Sebi for an initial public offering (IPO) that could raise up to $4 billion, or roughly Rs 37,700 crore — making it the largest stock market listing in India’s history.The firm is structuring the offering as a primary share sale, allowing it to retain all proceeds — a method that contrasts with NSE’s planned IPO, which will be conducted through an offer-for-sale in which existing shareholders will pocket the gains.
Jio public offer proceeds will be used to pare debt
The decision marks a departure from earlier expectations that foreign backers would use the float to cash out part of their stakes in Jio. Funds raised will go towards retiring debt (Jio’s net debt stood at Rs 27,579 crore as of March 31, 2026) and for other corporate purposes. The Jio offering, paired with the NSE’s $3 billion IPO, is expected to reshape an IPO market that has struggled for momentum this year.Ambani first indicated his intention for a public listing of Jio in 2019. While RIL has since listed Jio Financial Services in 2023, that entity was carved out through a demerger rather than an IPO. Jio Platforms will mark the group’s first IPO since Reliance Petroleum’s listing in 2006, which was subsequently merged back into RIL. Jio will issue 27 crore shares with a face value of Rs 10 each, resulting in an equity dilution of 2.9%. The dilution is close to the minimum public float permitted under Sebi’s revised IPO norms, which allow companies with a post-issue market capitalisation above Rs 5 lakh crore ($60 billion) to dilute just 2.5% at listing and subsequently achieve the mandatory 25% public shareholding over a 10-year period.“This is a deeply emotional moment for me, the entire Reliance family, and millions of its shareholders,” Ambani said during his annual address to RIL shareholders.He described the Jio IPO as “the most important value-creation milestone this year”, adding that his children are leading the process.RIL owns 66% of Jio, which disrupted India’s telecom market in 2016 with free voice calls and heavily discounted data plans, and has since grown to become the country’s largest wireless operator.Jio Platforms, in which Google, Meta and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority are investors, is expected to command a valuation of over $100 billion, which would rank it among India’s most valuable companies and among the world’s largest telecom groups by market capitalisation.
