Jio Platforms' IPO becomes first public offer globally to cross 1 cr applications

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NEW DELHI: Jio Platforms’ initial public offering (IPO) has become the first public issue globally to receive more than one crore applications, news agency PTI reported citing sources on Friday, as investor demand surged on the final day of bidding.The $3.2 billion offering by billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s telecom and digital services company has attracted strong interest from institutional and retail investors, employees and shareholders. The IPO, the largest in India’s history, is being closely watched as a test of investor appetite for large listings amid increased scrutiny of artificial intelligence-linked stocks.Subscriptions crossed six times the shares on offer by Friday.

Assuming bids were largely placed at the upper end of the price band of Rs 1,119, total demand exceeded $14.5 billion, according to Reuters.The strong response follows substantial demand from anchor investors, including the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, BlackRock and Fidelity. The $854 million worth of shares reserved for these investors received bids exceeding $25 billion on Monday.Jio Platforms’ IPO opened on Wednesday and was fully subscribed within two hours, an unusually rapid start for an Indian public issue.

In most Indian IPOs, subscription levels typically build gradually, with institutional investors often placing bids closer to the deadline.The IPO values Jio Platforms at up to $108.3 billion, potentially making it one of India’s largest companies by market capitalisation when trading begins on October 28.The company operates a mobile network serving more than 500 million users and has Meta Platforms and Alphabet’s Google among its investors.

It is led by Akash Ambani, the eldest son of Mukesh Ambani.Jio Platforms is part of Reliance Industries, which is often viewed by Indian investors as a long-term wealth creator. Reliance shares have delivered returns of around 900% since 2006, outperforming the benchmark Nifty index’s 685% return over the same period, according to LSEG data.