Jio IPO Closes 22 Times Subscribed in India's Biggest Share Sale

India's largest share sale ended with a rush on Friday. The initial public offering of Jio Platforms, the digital and telecom arm of Reliance Industries, closed on October 23 subscribed 22.19 times, according to BSE data reported by Inc42. Investors bid for 438.26 crore shares against 19.75 crore shares on offer. Total demand crossed 7.4 lakh crore rupees, about 77 billion dollars, and applications from 1.39 crore investors set a record for an Indian IPO, The Tech Portal reported.

The issue raised 30,213 crore rupees, the biggest IPO in Indian market history, ahead of Hyundai Motor India's 27,870 crore rupee issue in 2024. Shares were priced in a band of 1,065 to 1,119 rupees, with a minimum lot of 12 shares. At the top of the band the offering values Jio Platforms at about 10.30 lakh crore rupees, or 108.3 billion dollars, which would place it among India's largest listed companies when trading begins.

Institutions led the rush

Qualified institutional buyers drove the result. Their portion was subscribed 70.55 times, with bids for 345.76 crore shares against 4.90 crore shares reserved for the category. Non-institutional investors subscribed their portion 14 times. Retail investors, often the hardest group to move in a large issue, subscribed 2.72 times. The employee portion was booked 2.93 times and the portion reserved for Reliance shareholders 7.60 times.

Demand was strong from the first hour. Anchor investors were allotted shares worth 853 million dollars before the public sale opened, a pool that included the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and BlackRock among more than 200 global and domestic names. The institutional tranche filled within 10 minutes on the opening day, October 21, and the full book was subscribed within 100 minutes, the fastest full subscription for a mega IPO in India. The sale is Reliance's first public issue since Reliance Petroleum listed in 2006.

Why it matters

Jio Platforms runs India's largest mobile network and a growing set of digital services, from broadband to apps and enterprise technology. Its listing gives public investors a direct way to own the business rather than buying it inside the wider Reliance group. For India's markets, a sale of this size tests how much money domestic and foreign investors will commit to a single new listing, and the answer on Friday was clear: far more than the shares available.

The company plans to use up to 27,500 crore rupees of the proceeds to repay borrowings at Reliance Jio Infocomm, its telecom subsidiary. The rest is earmarked for capital spending across technology and digital services. Paying down debt with equity money lowers interest costs but also means the new shareholders are funding balance sheet repair as much as growth, a point analysts raised through the sale.

What happens next

Allotment is expected on October 26, with refunds and demat credits around October 27. Trading is scheduled to begin on the BSE and NSE on October 28. Unofficial grey market quotes put the premium near 21 percent, around 240 to 245 rupees a share, on Friday. Grey market prices are not regulated and do not guarantee listing gains. The real test comes on debut morning, when the stock has to hold the expectations priced into 22 times demand.

Key numbers

• Issue size: 30,213 crore rupees, India's largest IPO
• Final subscription: 22.19 times
• Shares bid: 438.26 crore against 19.75 crore on offer
• Institutional subscription: 70.55 times
• Retail subscription: 2.72 times
• Price band: 1,065 to 1,119 rupees a share
• Listing: October 28 on BSE and NSE