Jio IPO to open on October 21: 10 things to know about the Rs 30,000 crore mega issue

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The IPO comprises a fresh issue of up to 27 crore equity shares, with the proposed fundraise expected to be around Rs 30,000 crore. At the reported valuation of about Rs 10.3 lakh crore, or $106 billion, the offering would surpass Hyundai Motor India’s Rs 27,856 crore IPO in October 2024.

The offering will provide public market investors with exposure to Reliance’s digital ecosystem, which spans mobile connectivity, fixed broadband, cloud, entertainment, enterprise technology and artificial intelligence (AI).

The anchor investor bidding date is October 19, while the public issue will remain open from October 21 to October 23.

Based on the proposed timeline, the basis of allotment is likely to be finalised on October 26, with shares tentatively scheduled to make stock market debut on October 28.

Here are 10 key things investors should know about the Jio Platforms IPO.

1. IPO dates and issue size

Jio Platforms filed its RHP on October 14 after receiving an observation letter from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on August 28. The company had filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) on June 19.

The IPO will open for subscription on Wednesday, October 21, and close on Friday, October 23. The anchor investor bidding date is Monday, October 19.

The issue comprises a fresh offering of up to 27 crore equity shares of face value Rs 10 each. The proposed fundraise is expected to be over Rs 30,000 crore at the upper end of the price band. The company has fixed the price band at Rs 1,065-1,119 per share.

2. India’s biggest-ever IPO

At the expected size, the Jio Platforms IPO would overtake Hyundai Motor India’s Rs 27,856 crore public issue in October 2024 to become India’s largest-ever IPO.

Reuters earlier reported that Jio Platforms was targeting a valuation of around $106 billion, equivalent to approximately Rs 10.3 lakh crore, and was looking to raise up to Rs 30,200 crore at the upper end of the price band.

3. Fresh issue, with no offer for sale

The Jio Platforms IPO is structured entirely as a fresh issue, with no offer for sale (OFS) by existing shareholders.

This means Reliance Industries and strategic investors, including Meta, Google, Mubadala and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, are not expected to sell shares through the offering.

The proceeds will accrue to Jio Platforms, which plans to use the funds primarily to repay or prepay borrowings availed by its material subsidiary, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJIL), alongside general corporate purposes.

4. How the IPO proceeds will be used

Jio Platforms has identified two principal objectives for the net proceeds of the issue.

Up to Rs 27,500 crore is proposed to be used for the repayment or prepayment, in full or in part, of certain outstanding borrowings of RJIL. The balance will be allocated towards general corporate purposes.

The proposed use of funds makes debt repayment the primary objective of the issue, while the listing is also expected to create a public market for Jio Platforms’ equity shares.

5. Reliance Industries and other major shareholders

Reliance Industries Ltd is the promoter of Jio Platforms. As of the date of the draft red herring prospectus, RIL held 5,937,841,645 equity shares, representing 66.43% of Jio Platforms’ pre-issue paid-up equity share capital.

Among the external investors, Meta affiliate Jaadhu Holdings held a 9.98% stake, while Google International held 7.73%, according to the shareholding details provided.

The fresh-issue structure means these existing shareholders are not expected to dilute their holdings through an offer for sale in the IPO.

6. Reservation for Reliance shareholders and employees

The IPO includes a reservation for eligible Reliance Industries shareholders, providing an additional route for existing RIL investors to participate in the offering.

Up to Rs 2,500 crore worth of Jio Platforms shares will be reserved for eligible RIL shareholders who are individuals or Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) holding public equity shares of Reliance Industries as of October 14, subject to the eligibility conditions set out in the RHP.

A separate reservation of up to Rs 500 crore worth of shares has been made for eligible employees.

These reservations are in addition to the broader allocation framework for institutional, non-institutional and retail investors.

7. Allocation for institutional, retail and non-institutional investors

The IPO's investor allocation follows the categories specified in the RHP.

Qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) will be offered not more than 50% of the net issue, while retail individual investors will be allocated not less than 35%. Non-institutional investors (NIIs) will be offered not less than 15% of the net issue.

The allocation framework will determine how the shares are distributed across investor categories, subject to the final issue terms and applicable rules.

8. Financial performance: Revenue and profit rise in FY26

Jio Platforms reported an increase in revenue, operating earnings and profit in the financial year ended March 2026.

Revenue from operations rose 14.6% to Rs 1,46,885.3 crore in FY26 from Rs 1,28,218.4 crore in FY25.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased 18.8% to Rs 76,255.4 crore from Rs 64,170 crore, while profit after tax (PAT) climbed 15.1% to Rs 30,049.1 crore from Rs 26,109 crore.

The PAT margin improved to 20.46% in FY26 from 20.36% in the previous financial year.

The company's total customer base also expanded 7.4% to 524.4 million in FY26 from 488.2 million in FY25.

9. Valuation, grey market premium and investor interest

Jio Platforms is reportedly targeting a valuation of around Rs 10.3 lakh crore, with the IPO price band set at Rs 1,065-1,119 per share.

At the current estimated valuation, analysts expect Jio to trade at around 12 times estimated FY28 enterprise value to EBITDA, compared with approximately 10.3 times for Bharti Airtel’s India business, excluding Indus Towers.

“Overall, the pricing appears fair to mildly conservative rather than deeply undervalued. The valuation offers moderate upside, provided earnings growth improves and tariff hikes support profitability,” said Abhinav Tiwari, senior research analyst at Bonanza.

Grey market activity has also indicated strong interest ahead of the listing. Jio Platforms’ unlisted shares were commanding a premium of around Rs 218 per share, or 19%, implying a price of Rs 1,337 per share based on the upper end of the IPO price band at Rs 1,119.

The grey market premium is an unofficial indicator and may change before listing.

Reports have also suggested that the IPO has attracted more than $20 billion in bids from prospective investors, with global investment firms including Fidelity, Allianz and Capital Group reportedly expressing interest.

10. Registrar and book-running lead managers

KFin Technologies Ltd is the registrar for the issue, while the book-running lead managers include Kotak Mahindra Capital Company, Morgan Stanley India Company, BofA Securities India, Axis Capital, BNP Paribas, Citigroup Global Markets India, CLSA India, DAM Capital Advisors, Goldman Sachs (India) Securities, HDFC Bank, HSBC Securities and Capital Markets (India), ICICI Securities, IIFL Capital Services, Jefferies India, JM Financial, J.P. Morgan India, SBI Capital Markets, UBS Securities India and 360 ONE WAM.

Disclosure: This article has been written by Kumar Gaurav, who is not a Sebi-registered Research Analyst or an Investment Adviser. Gaurav and their ‘relative(s)’ (as defined under Section 2(77) of the Companies Act, 2013) do not hold any financial interest in the companies mentioned in this article as of the date of publication. The views/recommendations mentioned in this article, wherever applicable, are those of the respective Sebi-registered Research Analyst/brokerage and have been reproduced/reported with due attribution. They should not be construed as the views or recommendations of The Economic Times Digital or the journalist. Readers are advised to consider the original research report and make their investment decisions based on their own assessment. Brokerage disclaimers here