India’s primary market has seen several big-ticket IPOs struggle to deliver strong listing gains, leaving investors cautious about whether large offerings can translate into immediate market rewards.
With Jio Platforms’ much-awaited IPO set to open tomorrow, in what could be the country’s biggest-ever initial public offering (IPO), the key question is whether the Reliance Industries-backed digital business can buck the trend and deliver a strong debut.
So far, eight of the 13 IPOs with issue sizes exceeding ₹10,000 crore, including the recently listed NSE, have made relatively modest stock market debuts. The National Stock Exchange of India listed at a premium of just 0.84% over its issue price.
The ₹27,858 crore IPO of Hyundai Motor India witnessed a muted listing in October 2024, with the shares debuting at ₹1,934 apiece against the issue price of ₹1,960.
The listing of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the country’s largest life insurer, was also disappointing for investors. In May 2022, LIC made a weak debut on the exchanges, with its shares listing at ₹867.20, an 8.62% discount to the issue price of ₹949.
The journey of the Rs18,300 crore IPO of One 97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm, has been marked by sharp twists and turns since the fintech major’s listing in November 2021. Paytm shares debuted on the exchanges at ₹1,950, a 9.3% discount to the IPO price of ₹2,150 apiece.
LG Electronics India was a major outlier, with its shares listing at a massive 50% premium over the issue price, marking the biggest listing gain among big-ticket IPOs in this comparison.
What are the Street’s expectations from Jio Platforms’ IPO?
Street expectations for Jio Platforms have been high since the company filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) in June. The offering marks the first public issue from the Reliance group in nearly two decades and the first consumer-facing business within the conglomerate to go public.
The strong response from anchor investors on Monday and the elevated grey market premium (GMP) indicate that the telecom and digital services giant could break the trend of muted listings.
Jio Platforms allotted shares worth ₹8,109.85 crore to 212 anchor investors at the upper end of its price band, after institutional demand for the offering exceeded ₹2.5 trillion, or more than 30 times the amount available in the anchor book, according to a stock exchange filing and people familiar with the matter.
The anchor investors include some of the world’s largest fund managers and institutions, such as BlackRock, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Fidelity Investments, Schroders, JPMorgan Asset Management, Franklin Templeton, Invesco, and Prudential.
Jio Platforms IPO GMP rises to ₹260
The grey market premium (GMP) for Jio Platforms’ proposed initial public offering (IPO) has attracted attention as the issue opening date approaches. As of Tuesday, the GMP stood at ₹200, according to market sources, indicating a potential listing premium of around 18% over the upper end of the issue price band of ₹1,119.
Grey market trends are unofficial and can change before the IPO opens. They do not necessarily reflect the IPO’s final valuation or actual listing performance. The final issue price is determined by the company in consultation with its merchant bankers after considering multiple factors.
Disclaimer: We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
