Jio Platforms Ltd, the digital services division of billionaire Mukesh Ambani from Reliance Industries Ltd, has received approval from the market regulator SEBI to conduct an Initial Public Offering (IPO) that could raise approximately $3.8 billion. This event paves the way for what is set to be the largest listing on the country's stock market.
The final decision from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) was published on August 28, according to an update on the regulator's website. Previously, Jio Platforms had submitted draft documents for the IPO in June.
In the regulatory filings, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) indicated that Jio Platforms Limited (JPL), its subsidiary, received a letter with observations on the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) for the proposed IPO from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on August 28, 2026.
According to the draft prospectus, the company plans to issue up to 270 million new equity shares, which accounts for approximately 2.9% of its equity capital post-listing. According to sources familiar with the matter, this offering could value Jio Platforms at approximately $137 billion.
With an estimated offering size of about ₹37,700 crore (equivalent to $3.8 billion), this offering would surpass the Hyundai Motor India listing of $3.3 billion in 2024 and become the largest IPO in India. The proposed National Stock Exchange IPO, valued at approximately ₹30,000 crore, would be smaller.
The proceeds from the sale will primarily be used to repay or prepay approximately ₹27,500 crore in outstanding borrowings of Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, a material subsidiary of Jio Platforms, as per the draft prospectus. The remaining amount is designated for general corporate purposes.
This public offering takes place amid activity in the Indian primary market, which shows strong participation from retail investors and domestic institutions. Over two dozen IPOs have been announced or launched since July 1, almost matching the 28 registered in the first half of 2026.
Jio Platforms manages Reliance's digital enterprises, including its telecommunications operations. JPL's telecom division, Reliance Jio Infocomm, dominates the Indian telecom market, holding a 32.89% share in fixed connections, serving 157.9 million customers, and a 39.29% share in mobile connections, with 506 million customers.
By the end of July, the company had over 53.5 million subscribers, making it the second-largest mobile operator in one country globally after China Mobile. JPL possesses the largest 5G Standalone network outside of China, boasting 26.85 million 5G customers as of June 2026.
Jio leads in the Fixed Wireless Access segment globally with approximately 1.5 million subscribers, about 1.5 times more than the second-largest player, T-Mobile from the USA. Jio claims that its 5G network capacity approaches 60% of India's wireless data traffic, which is one of the largest in the world.
Leveraging its network power and traffic capacity, Jio has expanded into other areas, including cloud technologies, artificial intelligence, and enterprise network services.
During the fiscal year 2026, Jio Platforms demonstrated a 15% increase in profit after tax to ₹30,053 crore and a 14.5% increase in annual revenue to ₹1,46,885 crore.
Reliance Industries also received shareholder approval for internal transactions worth over ₹16,64 lakh crore, distributed over the next five fiscal years, involving subsidiaries of Jio Platforms and Reliance Jio Infocomm. The largest portion of the total deal, exceeding ₹13 lakh crore, will go to Reliance Jio from Reliance Retail in exchange for telecommunication services sold through its retail network.
Previously, Jio Platforms attracted major global technology and financial investors. In 2020, Meta invested ₹43,574 crore for a 9.99% stake, and Google invested ₹33,737 crore for a 7.73% stake. Other investors, including Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, KKR, Mubadala, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, TPG, L Catterton, Public Investment Fund, Intel Capital, and Qualcomm Ventures, collectively invested about ₹74,745 crore for approximately 15.2% stake.
According to the draft prospectus, Reliance Industries owns about 66.4% of Jio Platforms, while Meta and Google together hold about 17.7%. This IPO will be the first public offering from the Reliance group since 2008 and the first consumer business IPO within the conglomerate.
Although Ambani chairs Jio Platforms, his elder son Akash serves as its Managing Director. Akash is also the Chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, the company's telecommunications arm.
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