Jio Platforms Ltd, the digital services arm of Reliance Industries Ltd, has received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to proceed with an initial public offering that could raise about Rs 37,700 crore, according to media reports.
Sebi issued its final observations on Aug. 28, according to an update on the regulator’s website. Jio Platforms had filed its draft IPO papers in June.
The company plans to issue up to 27 crore fresh equity shares, representing about 2.9% of its post-issue equity base, according to its draft prospectus. Media reports said the offering could value Jio Platforms at about $137 billion.
At an estimated size of about Rs 37,700 crore, or $3.8 billion, the IPO could surpass Hyundai Motor India’s $3.3 billion-equivalent listing in 2024 and become India’s largest public offering.
The proceeds are expected to be used primarily to repay or prepay about Rs 27,500 crore of outstanding borrowings of Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, a key subsidiary of Jio Platforms. The remaining funds are earmarked for general corporate purposes.
Jio Platforms houses Reliance’s digital businesses, including its telecommunications operations. Reliance Jio Infocomm had more than 53.3 crore subscribers at the end of June, according to company data.
The business has also expanded into cloud services, artificial intelligence and enterprise network services.
Reliance Industries holds about 66.4% of Jio Platforms, while Meta and Google together hold about 17.7%, according to the draft prospectus.
According to media reports, the IPO would be Reliance group’s first public offering since 2008 and its first consumer-focused business listing.
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