October 16, 2026 | News Desk | Depth Grid

Jio Platforms will open the largest initial public offering in Indian market history on Wednesday, October 21, selling up to 27 crore new shares at ₹1,065 to ₹1,119 each.^[1] At the top of that band the issue raises ₹30,213 crore and values the digital arm of Reliance Industries at about ₹10.3 lakh crore ($108.3 billion).^[3] Bidding closes on October 23; the shares are due to list on the NSE and BSE on October 28.^[2]

The offer is entirely fresh equity; the company says the money will clear its telecom debt.^[2] It is also the first IPO from the Reliance group in nearly two decades.^[2] Nothing in this report is investment advice; investors should read the red herring prospectus on the SEBI website before bidding.

What Are the Terms of the Jio Platforms IPO?

The Jio Platforms IPO is a book-built offer of up to 27 crore fresh shares priced at ₹1,065 to ₹1,119, raising up to ₹30,213 crore. It opens on October 21, closes on October 23 and lists on October 28. There is no offer for sale, so every rupee raised goes to the company.

The shares on offer equal about 2.9% of Jio's post-issue equity, according to Bloomberg's calculation.^[1] That is a thin slice of a very large company; it means Reliance keeps roughly 64.5% after the listing.^[3] The offer beats the roughly ₹27,800 crore raised by Hyundai Motor India in 2024, the previous record, by about 9%.^[3]

Half of the net issue is reserved for qualified institutional buyers, 35% for retail investors and 15% for non-institutional investors.^[2] Within the issue, ₹2,500 crore is set aside for Reliance shareholders and ₹500 crore for employees, who receive a ₹54 per share discount, which works out to about 4.8% at the top of the band.^[2][3] The anchor book, about 30% of the issue or roughly ₹9,060 crore by Depth Grid arithmetic, opens on October 19.^[2]

Retail bidders apply in lots of 12 shares, which costs ₹13,428 at the upper price; a single retail application tops out at 14 lots (168 shares) and ₹1,87,992.^[4] Allotment is expected on October 26, with refunds and share credit on October 27.^[4] If the ₹3,000 crore of reserved shares sits outside the net issue, the retail quota is worth about ₹9,500 crore. That figure is our estimate; the prospectus governs the exact split.

Where Does the IPO Money Go?

Up to $2.89 billion of the roughly $3.2 billion raised is earmarked to repay borrowings at Reliance Jio Infocomm, the operating telecom subsidiary.^[3] That is about 90% of the proceeds. Jio's managing director told Business Standard that the proceeds will leave the company free of net debt.^[2] This is a deleveraging transaction first and a growth-capital raise second.

The structure matches the cash profile of the business. Jio cut capital spending by 23% to ₹34,184 crore in FY2026, according to TelecomLead's reading of the filing, after the heavy 5G build-out years.^[3] With the network largely built, the IPO gives shareholders a claim on earnings and cash generation with no new expansion round attached.

Is 34 Times Earnings Expensive for Jio?

At the top of the band Jio Platforms is valued at about 34 times FY26 earnings and 7 times revenue, against 39 times earnings for Bharti Airtel. Nomura estimates Jio's EV/EBITDA at 10.5 to 10.9 against 9.2 for Airtel. Analysts quoted so far call the pricing broadly fair.

Business Standard reports the 34 times earnings figure against 39 times for Bharti Airtel.^[2] The inputs are visible in the filing. Jio earned ₹30,049 crore of net profit on ₹1,46,885 crore of revenue in FY2026, with EBITDA of ₹76,255 crore.^[2] Those numbers imply an EBITDA margin near 52% and a net margin near 20%. Revenue grew 14.6% from ₹1,28,218 crore and profit grew 15.1% from ₹26,109 crore.^[3]

The most recent quarter shows a slower pace. Revenue for the June 2026 quarter rose to ₹39,173 crore from ₹35,032 crore, a gain of about 11.8%; profit rose to ₹7,764 crore from ₹7,110 crore, up about 9.2%.^[3] Both rates sit below the full-year figures. A buyer paying 34 times earnings is therefore betting that growth reaccelerates; the main lever is higher tariffs and not new subscribers, because the subscriber base of 533.3 million is already large.^[3]

The price also marks a step up from the last private marks. In 2020 Jio sold about 33% of its equity to 13 investors, including Meta and Google, raising more than $20.5 billion at valuations between $57 billion and $65 billion.^[3] The IPO values the company at 1.7 to 1.9 times those levels. On October 15, after the price band emerged, Reliance Industries shares rose 3.44% to ₹1,215 and Airtel rose 3.3% to ₹1,854.^[3]

What Risks Does the Prospectus Flag?

The updated prospectus points to telecom and data-protection rules that could limit how far Jio can monetize customer data and build a digital advertising business.^[3] That matters because the story that justifies a premium to a plain mobile operator depends on higher-margin revenue from AI, cloud, enterprise connectivity and digital applications. Data centers and satellite communications are candidates for later growth; their earnings contribution remains uncertain.^[3]

The second risk is tariff dependence. With the subscriber market maturing, analysts expect price increases to carry earnings growth.^[3] A delay in tariff action or a competitive response from Airtel would hit a stock priced for acceleration. The third is the gap between talk and fact on first-day returns. Market indicators on October 15 suggested listing gains of 15% to 20%, but those readings are unofficial and no outcome is guaranteed.^[3]

For founders and fund managers following Indian exits, the size of the book matters on its own. A ₹30,000 crore issue tests how much domestic and foreign capital the primary market can absorb in a single week, which affects the window for smaller listings behind it. Our guides to how startups are getting funded in 2026 and to startup funding in India, the US and Europe cover the exit side of that market in more detail.

What Happens Next for the Jio IPO?

• October 19: anchor investor bidding, about 30% of the issue.
• October 21 to 23: public subscription for institutional, non-institutional and retail investors.
• October 26: basis of allotment.
• October 27: refunds and credit of shares to demat accounts.
• October 28: listing on the NSE and BSE.

The anchor list will show first which institutions are willing to pay the top of the band; subscription data on October 21 and 22 will show how retail demand compares with the 35% quota. The listing day will then set the first public price for a business that has never traded separately. Our earlier look at what the 2026 funding data shows on AI valuations is a useful reference for how markets are pricing digital platforms this year.

Common Questions

Sources

1. Bloomberg, "Ambani's Jio Heads Toward Record-Breaking India IPO Next Week," October 14, 2026. bloomberg.com
2. Business Standard, "Jio's ₹30,213-cr IPO priced at 34x earnings, below Bharti Airtel's 39x," October 15, 2026. business-standard.com
3. TelecomLead, "Jio Platforms IPO 2026: ₹30,213 Crore Issue, ₹10.3 Lakh Crore Valuation and ₹1,119 Share Price," October 16, 2026. telecomlead.com
4. Chittorgarh, "Jio Platforms IPO: Dates, Price Band, Lot Size and Reservation Details." chittorgarh.com

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Depth Grid News Desk | depthgrid.in