BlackRock Inc., Fidelity Management & Research, Capital Group and Allianz SE were among the investors taking anchoring stakes in Jio Platforms Ltd.’s $3.2 billion initial public offering, as Reliance Industries Ltd.’s telecom and digital services arm prepares for what’s set to be India’s biggest-ever share sale.
Investment bankers working on the transaction allocated 7.247 crore shares to anchor investors at ₹1,119 apiece, the top end of the marketed range, raising ₹8,110 crore ($854 million), according to an exchange filing.
Sovereign wealth funds including Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Government of Singapore, Qatar Investment Authority and Norges Bank Investment Management also participated in the anchor book, the filing showed.
The offering drew strong demand from domestic mutual funds and insurers. Life Insurance Corporation of India, SBI Funds Management Ltd., ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co. Ltd. and HDFC Asset Management Co. Ltd. were among the largest anchor investors in the offering.
Jio Platforms is seeking a valuation of as much as 10.3 lakh crore in the IPO. The company is offering as many as 27 crore shares at ₹1,065-1,119 apiece, seeking to raise as much as ₹30,200 crore. The shares on offer represent about 2.9% of Jio’s post-issue equity capital, according to Bloomberg calculations.
Even at the bottom of the price range, the offering would raise about ₹28,700 crore, surpassing Hyundai Motor India Ltd.’s ₹27,800-crore share sale in October 2024, currently the country’s largest IPO.
Jio has reserved shares worth as much as ₹500 crore for eligible employees, who are being offered a discount of about 5%, company filings show. The IPO also includes a reservation of as much as ₹2,500 crore of shares for eligible Reliance Industries shareholders. The IPO is scheduled to open for subscription on 21 October and close on 23 October.
Jio has appointed 19 banks to work on the offering, including Kotak Mahindra Capital Co., Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Corp., Axis Capital Ltd., BNP Paribas SA and Citigroup Inc.
