Reliance Jio’s Record ₹30,213 Crore IPO Opens for Subscription on October 21

Synopsis

Jio Platforms will list on the stock market from 21st to 23rd October with an IPO price band of ₹1,065-1,119 per share. The offer is a completely new issue of 27 crore shares that can generate ₹30,213 crore when issued at the highest point in the band, with a valuation of the company at ₹10.3 trillion. October 19 is the date for the start of anchor bidding. Reliance Industries stocks jumped almost 3% after the news.

The digital and telecom wing of the Reliance Industries group, Jio Platforms, will list on October 21 with a price range of ₹1,065 to ₹1,119 a share, the details of which were confirmed from its listing documents after they were earlier reported. It is a totally fresh issue – it is a share sale and bidding closes on October 23.

The numbers

The fresh issue of 270 million shares will generate a Rs 10,30,491 crore valuation of the company and a sum of about Rs 30,213 crore this time. This is approximately ₹2,300 crore more than the Hyundai Motor India's ₹27,870 crore bid in 2024, which is the largest offer witnessed in India so far, Business Standard quoted the report as saying. Even at the lower price of ₹1,065, 27 crore shares will bring up around ₹28,755 crore, which is still to the higher end of the range.

Half the net issue is reserved for qualified institutional buyers, 35% for retail investors and 15% for non-institutional investors. The anchor book (around 30% of the issue) will be released on October 19 of this year.

The price of a lot of 12 is ₹13,428 at the top of the band, and those who are eligible to bid in their allocated part get a discount of up to ₹54 per share. In the issue, ₹2,500 crore has been allocated to the shareholders of Reliance Industries and ₹500 crore for employees.

Regulatory path

The timeline of the process itself indicates that it took months: Jio had submitted its draft prospectus on June 19, got an observation letter from the Securities and Exchange Board of India on August 28 and filed its Red Herring Prospectus on October 14.

Valuation in context

On the high end of the band, Jio is trading at 34 times its FY26 earnings, while its nearest listed competitor Bharti Airtel is trading at approximately 39 times its FY26 earnings. The prospectus sets the benchmark at a median valuation of 22.35 times price-earnings of listed peers, which is how the offer will be evaluated. These figures are the filing and press release figures and do not constitute recommendations.

Market's reaction

Following the announcement, the shares of Reliance Industries jumped by 2.85% to a high of ₹1,209.50 on the BSE for the day. Market participants also believe the offer will have impact on the liquidity. Saurabh Jain of SMC Global told Reuters that the offer will "squeeze" money from the equities market, which is likely to pause next week, particularly for IT stocks.

Implications and outlook

The offer is a big test for market depth for retail and institutional investors following a volatile couple of weeks. For Reliance, it will result in a separate telecom and digital business segment, with its own disclosure requirements. Subscription data for the three days, especially demand in the retail and institutional segments, will paint a picture of the market's reaction to the pricing. The listing dates will be after the issue has closed.

This article provides information only, does not constitute investment advice and may not be suitable for any particular circumstances.