Jio Platforms draws record anchor demand before India's biggest IPO
Jio Platforms drew bids worth about 2.5 trillion rupees from big investors, more than 30 times the shares set aside for them, ahead of its stock market debut. The company sold 81.1 billion rupees of shares to 212 anchor investors. The public offering opens Wednesday.
Jio Platforms, the telecom and digital arm of India's Reliance Industries, drew record demand from large investors ahead of what is set to be India's biggest initial public offering, Business Standard, The Economic Times and The Indian Express reported.
Institutional bids for the anchor portion topped 2.5 trillion rupees, more than 30 times the shares on offer, Business Standard reported, citing a stock exchange filing and people familiar with the matter. Anchor investors are large funds that commit to buying shares before an offering opens to the public.
The company allotted about 72.4 million shares worth about 81.1 billion rupees to 212 anchor investors, at 1,119 rupees each, the top of its price range, the outlets reported.
Life Insurance Corporation of India got the largest allocation, worth nearly 5 billion rupees, or 6.17% of the anchor portion, The Economic Times reported. Domestic mutual funds took 34.34% of the anchor book. Global firms including BlackRock, Fidelity, JPMorgan and Capital Group took part, along with the government of Singapore and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. Some large investors bid for $750 million to more than $1 billion each, Business Standard reported.
The public offering opens Oct. 21 and closes Oct. 23, the outlets reported. Jio aims to raise about 302 billion rupees, or up to $3.2 billion, through new shares at a value of about $108 billion, Business Standard reported. That would top Hyundai Motor India's 2024 offering as the country's largest, The Economic Times reported.
At least 35% of the shares are set aside for individual investors, and employees get a discount of 54 rupees a share, The Indian Express reported. Reliance even moved up October salary payments, giving staff money to invest before the offering. Most of the money raised will go to paying down debt.
The strong demand comes as foreign investors have been pulling money out of Indian stocks, The Economic Times reported. Reliance, controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, will keep a majority stake. Jio had 533.3 million subscribers as of June, Business Standard reported.
What we know: Jio's anchor book drew more than 30 times the shares on offer before the Oct. 21 opening.
What we don't: How strong demand will be from ordinary investors once the offering opens.
Where outlets agree Business Standard, The Economic Times and The Indian Express all report about 81.1 billion rupees allotted to 212 anchor investors at 1,119 rupees a share before the Oct. 21 opening.
Where they differ The cited reports agree on the key facts so far.