Jio Platforms plans $3B debt reduction from IPO proceeds in India’s largest-ever offering

India’s biggest telecom company is going public, and it’s not using the cash to build something new. It’s using it to pay off what it already built.

Jio Platforms filed its draft red herring prospectus on June 19, laying the groundwork for what could become India’s largest IPO ever at approximately $3.8 billion. The company plans to issue up to 27 crore equity shares at a face value of Rs 10 each, with the lion’s share of the proceeds, roughly Rs 27,500 crore (about $3.27 billion), going directly toward repaying external borrowings at its subsidiary Reliance Jio Infocomm.

The debt play

The numbers tell a clear story. As of March 2026, Reliance Jio’s net debt stood at Rs 27,579 crore. That’s already a significant reduction from Rs 45,273 crore just a year earlier in March 2025, a roughly 39% decline. If the IPO proceeds land as planned, the company could essentially zero out its remaining external borrowings in one shot.

A telecom giant with serious scale

In fiscal year 2026, Jio Platforms reported revenue of Rs 1.47 lakh crore, representing 14.6% year-on-year growth. Its subscriber base now exceeds 524 million users, making it the largest telecommunications provider in a country of 1.4 billion people.

Reliance Industries, the parent conglomerate led by Mukesh Ambani, holds over 66% of Jio Platforms. Previous funding rounds brought in notable strategic investors including Google and Meta, though both hold stakes below 10%.

Beyond basic telecom services, Jio has signaled intentions to invest in 5G technology, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and enterprise services. Some IPO proceeds beyond the debt repayment are designated for general corporate purposes.

What this means for investors

Eliminating Rs 27,500 crore in external borrowings immediately improves Jio’s interest coverage ratios. If Jio is paying even moderate interest rates on $3.27 billion in debt, eliminating those payments frees up hundreds of millions in annual cash flow that can be redirected into the 5G rollout, AI infrastructure, or enterprise cloud services without taking on new obligations.

A $3.8 billion offering would set a new record for Indian public listings. India’s telecom market has historically been brutal on margins, with price wars that bankrupted several competitors before Jio’s entry reshaped the landscape entirely. Whether the company can maintain 14.6% revenue growth while satisfying public market expectations for profitability is the tension investors will need to watch closely.

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