TL;DR
Jio Platforms has filed for a $3.8 billion initial public offering that would be India’s largest ever, with $2.9 billion earmarked to pay off foreign currency debt of its telecom unit.
Jio Platforms, the digital and telecom arm of Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries, filed its draft red herring prospectus with India’s securities regulator on Friday for what would be the country’s largest initial public offering. The filing covers a fresh issue of up to 270 million shares, with no offer for sale component, meaning every rupee raised flows directly to the company’s balance sheet.
The IPO is expected to raise about $3.8 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. That would surpass Hyundai Motor India’s $3.3 billion listing in October 2024, currently the record for a maiden Indian offering.
The DRHP specifies that Rs 275 billion ($2.9 billion) of the net proceeds will go towards prepaying external commercial loans held by Reliance Jio Infocomm, its telecom subsidiary. The remaining funds are intended for general corporate purposes.
The loans in question consist of three lines of credit denominated in dollars and yen, totaling 300.6 billion rupees. Lenders include Australia & New Zealand Banking Group, Bank of America, Barclays, BNP Paribas and Citibank. The three credits are scheduled to be repaid between March and June 2028, but Jio Platforms intends to prepay them in whole or in part with the IPO proceeds.
Ambani announced the filing at Reliance Industries’ 49th annual general meeting on June 19, describing the listing as a step towards unlocking value for shareholders. The IPO will be led by Akash, Isha and Anant Ambani, the next generation of the family.
Nineteen banks have been appointed as lead book-running managers, including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Kotak Mahindra Capital.
The deleveraging strategy is significant. Jio Platforms’ net debt stood at Rs 275.8 billion as of March 2026, up from Rs 452.7 billion a year earlier and Rs 484.4 billion in March 2024. A successful IPO would eliminate most of the remaining foreign currency exposure and reduce the company’s annual servicing costs.
The company said in the prospectus that repaying debt would enhance its ability to raise future resources for business development and position it for continued investment in 5G network densification, fixed broadband expansion, and cloud and artificial intelligence services.
Jio Platforms operates through its telecom subsidiary Reliance Jio Infocomm, which is the world’s second-largest mobile operator by single-country subscribers after China Mobile. As of March 2026, it had 524.4 million subscribers, of which 268.5 million were already on its 5G network, making it the largest single-country 5G operator outside of China in a market competing to scale its digital infrastructure.
In the financial year ending March 2026, Jio reported operating income of about Rs 1.47 trillion ($15.6 billion) and net profit of about Rs 300 billion ($3.2 billion). EBITDA increased 18.8% to Rs 762.6 billion, and margins improved to 51.9%.
With a valuation of over $130 billion, which analysts estimate is between $131 billion and $180 billion, the IPO would make Jio Platforms one of the most valuable companies listed in Asia. The offering represents about 2.9% of post-issue capital, thanks to a March 2026 regulatory change that allows companies valued at more than Rs 5 trillion to list with just a 2.5% public float.
Meta has a 9.99% stake and Google has 7.73%, both acquired during a 2020 fundraising round that attracted more than a dozen global investors, including KKR, Vista Equity Partners, Silver Lake, and sovereign wealth funds from Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia. The fresh issue structure means that none of these investors are selling into the IPO itself, although the DRHP does not restrict future secondary sales once lock-up periods expire.
The timing places Jio’s presentation alongside a broader wave of top asian tech listings. At the same AGM, Ambani outlined a $110 billion investment in AI infrastructure over seven years and announced a partnership with Meta to build an AI data center in Jamnagar, Gujarat. The proceeds from the IPO, by clearing the balance sheet of foreign currency debt, would free up capacity for those commitments.
India’s broader push toward Technological self-sufficiency and sovereign AI infrastructure. adds a geopolitical dimension to the list. Jio has positioned itself as the backbone of India’s digital economy and its 5G and AI ambitions align with the government’s stated goal of reducing dependence on foreign technology platforms.
Existing retail shareholders of Reliance Industries will receive a dedicated quota in the offering, with up to 35% of the issue reserved for retail investors. The price band, lot size and bidding dates are yet to be revealed, which is standard at the DRHP stage. These will follow once SEBI issues its observations and Jio files its final prospectus.
The draft document does not specify the total size of the IPO in terms of rupees as the issue price will be determined through book building. However, based on the figure of 270 million shares and current valuation estimates, the offering is expected to reach Rs 360 billion.
