Jio Platforms IPO becomes first to cross 1 crore applications globally
Jio Platforms’ initial public offering became the first globally to exceed one crore applications, raising about ₹30,213 crore to clear subsidiary debts and fund digital expansion, according to company sources.
Jio Platforms’ initial public offering became the first globally to exceed one crore applications, raising about ₹30,213 crore to clear subsidiary debts and fund digital expansion, according to company sources.
Jio Platforms’ initial public offering became the first globally to exceed one crore applications, raising about ₹30,213 crore to clear subsidiary debts and fund digital expansion, according to company sources.
New Delhi: Jio Platforms’ mega initial public offering (IPO) has become the first public issue in the world to cross one crore applications, setting a new global record, sources said on Friday.
The milestone surpasses the previous record of around 97 lakh applications set by Waaree Energies. It also exceeds the figures recorded by earlier Indian record-setters, including Bajaj Housing Finance.
The IPO crossed the one-crore mark with five hours remaining before the issue closed on Friday, reflecting strong investor interest in the company, sources said.
By 12.03 pm, the issue had received bids for 136.32 crore shares against the 19.75 crore shares on offer, translating into an overall subscription of nearly seven times.
Institutional investors led the demand, with the qualified institutional buyers (QIB) category subscribed 14.46 times. They bid for 70.85 crore shares against the 4.90 crore shares reserved for the category. Domestic financial institutions, including banks, financial institutions and insurers, bid for 34.51 crore shares, while foreign institutional investors bid for 26.95 crore shares. Mutual funds accounted for 4.40 crore shares.
The non-institutional investor category was subscribed 9.45 times.
Retail individual investors bid for 17.19 crore shares against the 8.50 crore shares reserved for them, taking the subscription to 2.02 times. The shareholder reservation portion was subscribed 5.68 times, while the employee quota was subscribed 2.48 times.
The IPO comprises an entirely fresh issue of 27 crore shares. At the upper end of the price band, Jio Platforms will raise around ₹30,213 crore, valuing the company at approximately $108 billion.
Neither parent company Reliance Industries Ltd nor any of its other existing shareholders is selling shares in the offering.
Jio Platforms had raised around ₹8,110 crore from 212 anchor investors on October 19, allotting shares at ₹1,119 apiece, the upper end of the price band.
The anchor book reportedly attracted bids exceeding ₹2.5 lakh crore, more than 30 times the allocation available. Investors included global asset managers and sovereign wealth funds such as BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, GIC and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
Jio Platforms plans to use up to ₹27,500 crore from the proceeds to repay borrowings of its wholly owned subsidiary, Reliance Jio Infocomm. The remaining funds will support capital expenditure, including investments in technology and digital services, as well as working capital requirements.
Jio Platforms managing director Akash Ambani recently said the company was counting on its technology, artificial intelligence and cloud ambitions to drive growth beyond telecommunications.
“There is no either-or at Jio: the network is our technology,” Ambani told PTI in an interview, highlighting the company’s in-house 5G core, cloud-native radio access network and software platform serving 533.3 million customers.
“Connectivity was the first product we built on that platform. Digital services, AI and cloud are what we are layering on top of it now,” he said.
The public issue closes on Friday, October 23, which also happens to be Akash Ambani’s birthday.