Shares of Jio Platforms rose 21.5% on their trading debut Wednesday, closing at 1,360 rupees after the country's largest-ever initial public offering priced at 1,119 rupees. The listing values the telecom and digital services operator at 12.5 trillion rupees, or roughly $131 billion, making it India's second-most-valuable company behind parent Reliance Industries.
The offer was oversubscribed 22 times
Demand for the 270 million shares on offer exceeded supply by more than 22 times, according to BSE data. The qualified institutional portion was subscribed 70.55 times, while the retail tranche drew 2.72 times coverage. The issue was fully subscribed within 95 minutes of opening on Oct. 21, Akash Ambani, Jio's managing director, said ahead of the listing. Including the anchor book, orders reached $78 billion for the 302 billion rupee ($3.2 billion) raise.
Anchor book drew global sovereign and institutional capital
BlackRock, Capital Group and Singapore's GIC participated in the anchor portion set aside for large institutions before public bidding opened. Reliance Industries retains a 66% stake post-listing. Meta Platforms affiliate Jaadhu Holdings holds nearly 10% and Google International owns 7.7%, per LSEG data.
Index inclusion seen as next catalyst
Deven Choksey, founder of DRChoksey FinServ, told CNBC that eventual entry into benchmark indices such as the Nifty 50 and MSCI gauges will generate structural demand and cushion the stock from oversupply when early 2021 investors look to exit in roughly six months. Nomura initiated coverage with a buy rating and a 1,340 rupee target, citing a largely completed capex cycle and expected free-cash-flow improvement. The stock already trades above that level.