Jio Platforms has received SEBI’s final observations for a fresh issue of up to 27 crore shares worth roughly Rs 37,700 crore, positioning it to become India’s largest-ever IPO and giving Reliance Industries’ telecom arm its first standalone market valuation.
SEBI clearance moves Jio closer to India’s biggest listing
The Securities and Exchange Board of India issued its final observation letter on Jio Platforms’ draft red herring prospectus on 28 August 2026, roughly two months after the draft was filed in June. Reliance Industries informed stock exchanges of the development the same evening, confirming that the telecom and digital services subsidiary is now cleared to proceed with one of the most closely watched public offerings in Indian market history.
If completed at the proposed size, the issue would surpass Hyundai Motor India’s Rs 27,858.75-crore IPO from October 2024, currently India’s largest, and LIC’s Rs 20,557-crore offering from 2022. It would also mark the first public issue from the Reliance Group since 2008.
What the issue looks like
The IPO will comprise an entirely fresh issue of up to 27 crore equity shares, with no offer-for-sale component. That means no existing shareholder, including Reliance Industries, Meta or Google, is selling shares as part of this round; all proceeds go directly to the company.
Of the funds raised, up to Rs 27,500 crore is earmarked to prepay or repay borrowings at Reliance Jio Infocomm, the operating telecom subsidiary, with the balance set aside for general corporate purposes. The fresh shares represent about 2.9% of Jio Platforms’ post-issue equity base, a relatively small float for an issue of this scale, reflecting the company’s large existing capital structure.
Kotak Mahindra Capital, Morgan Stanley India, BofA Securities India, Axis Capital, Goldman Sachs India, JP Morgan India and SBI Capital Markets are among the book-running lead managers, with KFin Technologies acting as registrar. The price band, exact issue dates and listing timeline have not yet been disclosed.
Why this matters for Reliance Industries
Jio Platforms is RIL’s largest operating asset, and this IPO is the first step toward giving it an independent, market-discovered valuation rather than one embedded inside RIL’s broader conglomerate structure spanning energy, retail and telecom. Analysts at Morgan Stanley and Citi Research have separately floated valuation estimates in the $130-137 billion range, though these remain brokerage projections rather than figures confirmed by the company or the regulator.
RIL currently holds a 66.43% stake in Jio Platforms. Meta Platforms owns 9.98% through Jaadhu Holdings, and Google holds 7.73%, together accounting for roughly 17.7% of the company. Other global investors on the cap table include Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, KKR and Vista Equity Partners at 2.31% each, alongside Silver Lake, Mubadala, General Atlantic Singapore, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and TPG Capital in smaller proportions.
This ownership structure traces back to 2020, when Jio Platforms raised significant capital from Meta and Google alongside a string of private equity investors, a fundraising round that valued the company well before any public listing was contemplated. The current IPO is widely viewed as the next stage in monetising that earlier investor interest.
Business performance behind the offering
Jio Platforms’ operating business continues to post steady growth. For the quarter ended June 2026, net profit stood at Rs 7,764 crore, up 9.2% year-on-year, while revenue from operations rose 11.8% to Rs 39,173 crore.
Reliance Jio Infocomm, the group’s core telecom operator, had more than 53.3 crore subscribers as of end-June 2026, making it the world’s second-largest mobile operator by subscriber count. This scale is central to the investor narrative around the IPO, since the offering effectively provides public market access to India’s largest telecom subscriber base for the first time.
Comparing India’s largest public issues
| IPO | Year | Issue size (Rs crore) |
|---|---|---|
| Jio Platforms (proposed) | 2026 | 37,700 |
| Hyundai Motor India | 2024 | 27,858.75 |
| LIC | 2022 | 20,557.23 |
| Paytm (One97 Communications) | 2021 | 18,300 |
| Tata Capital | 2025 | 15,511.87 |
| Coal India | 2010 | 15,199.44 |
What investors should track next
With SEBI’s observations in hand, the next milestones are the price band, the exact issue size and the subscription and listing timeline, none of which have been finalised yet. RIL’s stock is likely to remain in focus in the interim as the market digests what a standalone Jio Platforms valuation could mean for the parent company’s overall worth.
Investors who want to track RIL’s share price movement or eventually participate once the price band is announced will need a functioning demat and trading account in place, since applying for shares in a public issue requires holding securities in demat form. Those already active on an online trading platform will also be better positioned to monitor RIL’s stock alongside broader Nifty and Sensex movements as more details of the Jio Platforms offering emerge in the coming weeks.
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