India’s Jio IPO opens for public bids in record $3.2 billion sale

Jio Platforms’ (JIOP.NS) $3.2 billion IPO launches on Wednesday, testing demand for India’s largest share sale to date and the first from billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance (RELI.NS) conglomerate in two decades.

The Jio Platforms IPO will be a crucial test of global appetite for fresh share offerings at a time when investors have tightened their examination of AI-related companies which some analysts think might see them shifting away from the technology.

Jio Platforms, the parent of India’s biggest telecom firm with over 500 million subscribers, backed by Meta, ​Google and institutional investors, is the world’s second-largest telecom operator in a single country behind China Mobile.

The IPO ​values Jio Platforms at up to $108.3 billion, possibly making it one of India’s biggest corporations by market valuation when ​trading kicks out on October 28. About a third of the shares on offer are allocated for retail investors.

Jio Platforms this week allocated $853 million worth of shares to global and local investors including Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and BlackRock, after the reserved part for such investors attracted bids of more than $25 billion.

LAUNCH DATES FESTIVE

Retail investors and Reliance’s employees and stockholders will get a chance to join in the offering that closes Friday and has a price range of 1,065 to 1,119 rupees a share.
The IPO is Reliance’s first since 2006 and is larger than previous huge offerings such as Hyundai Motor India (HYUN.NS), opens new tab, and National Stock Exchange (NSEI.BO).

The plans were also delayed in 2025, when Ambani first said he planned to list in five years in 2019. A filing in as early as March was stymied by the Iran war sapping IPO enthusiasm.

Ambani’s son Akash runs Jio Platforms’ telecom company, which started in 2016 with the gamble that Indians would use the internet a lot more if it cost virtually nothing. It quickly seized market share from rivals like Bharti Airtel (BRTI.NS), opens new tab and Vodafone Idea (VODA.NS), opens new tab with cheap data ​and free voice calls.

Jio Platforms is selling its IPO in the middle of a Hindu festive season, seen as a lucky time for buying, although Indian markets have been dull in recent weeks.

Reliance this month also paid pay cheques approximately 15 days early to its more than 400,000 employees and in recent weeks helped expedite share account opening services to people interested in applying for the IPO, said a person in the business with direct knowledge of the situation.

Reliance did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

For the year ending in March, Jio Platforms posted a profit of $3.2 billion on revenue of $15.5 billion. Its telecoms division alone accounted for over 90% of those figures.