Jio filed its prospectus, and every rupee is going to pay down debt

Punjab, Oct. 15 -- Jio Platforms has filed its red herring prospectus, and the subscription is reported to open on 21 October. It will be India's largest IPO. Every rupee raised is reported to go to retiring debt - none of it to the company's own growth, and none to selling shareholders.

The structure

The issue is entirely fresh equity: up to 27 crore shares of Rs 10 face value, with no offer-for-sale component. That works out to about 2.93 per cent of post-issue equity. Reliance Industries retains 66.43 per cent of Jio Platforms, and the shares are proposed for listing on both exchanges.

No OFS is the detail worth pausing on. In most large Indian IPOs a substantial slice is existing investors cashing out. Here nobody is selling, which m...