Jio Platforms IPO: Anchor Bidding Begins for Record Issue

The Jio Platforms IPO entered its decisive phase on Monday, October 19, 2026, as the anchor investor book opened ahead of what is set to become India's largest-ever public offering. The digital and telecom arm of Reliance Industries is targeting up to Rs 30,213 crore through a fresh issue of up to 27 crore equity shares, with the price band fixed at Rs 1,065 to Rs 1,119 per share. At the upper end of the band, the issue values the company at approximately Rs 10.3 lakh crore, or about $108 billion.

The public subscription window for the Jio Platforms IPO opens on October 21 and closes on October 23, with the shares expected to list on the NSE and BSE on October 28. The anchor book, which allows eligible institutional investors to bid ahead of the public offering, is expected to provide an early signal of demand for the landmark issue. The issue is a 100 per cent fresh issue, with no offer-for-sale component, so all proceeds will flow into the company rather than to existing shareholders.

The Jio Platforms IPO surpasses the previous record set by Hyundai Motor India, whose Rs 27,858.75 crore offering in 2024 was India's largest to date. It is also roughly 47 per cent larger than the Life Insurance Corporation of India's Rs 20,557.23 crore offering. Unlike those two issues, which were entirely offer-for-sale transactions, Jio's is a pure primary offering aimed at raising capital for the business.

According to the red herring prospectus filed on October 14, 2026, up to Rs 27,500 crore of the net proceeds from the Jio Platforms IPO will be used to prepay outstanding borrowings of Reliance Jio Infocomm, which stood at Rs 71,529 crore as of March 31, 2026. The balance will be available for general corporate purposes. Investors must bid for a minimum of 12 shares and in multiples of 12 thereafter, with one lot costing Rs 13,428 at the cap price.

The issue also carries reserved portions for two specific investor groups. Up to Rs 2,500 crore worth of shares has been reserved for eligible individual and Hindu Undivided Family shareholders of Reliance Industries who held shares as of October 14, while up to Rs 500 crore has been reserved for eligible employees, who will receive a discount of Rs 54 per share in the employee reservation portion.

What the Jio Platforms IPO Filing Reveals

The draft prospectus numbers behind the Jio Platforms IPO underline the scale of the business coming to market. For FY26, Jio Platforms reported revenue from operations of Rs 1,46,885 crore, EBITDA of Rs 76,255 crore at a 51.9 per cent margin, and profit after tax of about Rs 30,049 crore, up 15.1 per cent from the previous year. Because the offer includes no secondary sale, Reliance Industries will not receive immediate cash from the float; its equity holding will dilute from 66.35 per cent to 64.41 per cent post-issue while retaining corporate control.

Jio Platforms IPO: How the Proceeds Will Be Used

Debt deleveraging is the centrepiece of the Jio Platforms IPO's use of proceeds. The Jio IPO debt repayment plan retires roughly 38 per cent of Reliance Jio Infocomm's borrowings, directly addressing interest costs and strengthening free-cash-flow generation across the consolidated group. The Jio IPO price band, set between Rs 1,065 and Rs 1,119 per share, implies that even at the floor price the 27 crore shares would raise around Rs 28,755 crore, still above the previous record. The Jio IPO price band applies uniformly across the reserved portions. The Jio IPO debt repayment is the single largest stated use of the fresh capital. The allocation structure reserves half the net issue for qualified institutional buyers, 35 per cent for retail investors and 15 per cent for non-institutional investors.

Why the Jio Platforms IPO Matters for the Market

As an independently listed entity, the Jio Platforms listing will let the market assess subscriber churn, network capital expenditure, spectrum liabilities and average revenue per user directly against listed peer Bharti Airtel rather than inside conglomerate-wide numbers. Strategic co-investors will see proportional dilution without offloading shares, with Meta Platforms' affiliate Jaadhu Holdings at 9.68 per cent and Google International at 7.49 per cent post-issue. The anchor book response on October 19 will set the tone for the public subscription from October 21 to 23 and for the Jio Platforms listing expected on October 28.