Jio Platforms Ltd’s Rs. 30,213 crore initial public offer (IPO) became India’s fastest ever subscribed IPO, getting fully subscribed within 100 minutes of opening on Wednesday. Including anchor allocation, the total demand for this is around Rs. 74,610 crores. According to exchange data, the public issue was subscribed 3.01 times till 5 pm. In which investors bid for 59.44 crore shares against 19.75 crore shares. Rs. 1,119 at the upper end of the price band, the public bid was valued at around Rs. 66,500 crore, while anchor allocation contributed to the total demand of Rs. 8,110 crore was added.

Who subscribed how many?

The portion reserved for qualified institutional buyers (QIB) was subscribed 9.02 times, with bids for 44.22 crore shares against 4.90 crore shares. Domestic financial institutions including banks and insurance companies bid for 25.02 crore shares while foreign institutional investors sought 15.14 crore shares. Mutual funds bid for 3.19 crore shares.

Demand from non-institutional investors was 1.58 times the shares reserved for them. Retail investors were oversubscribed 0.68 times, with 5.78 crore shares bid against 8.50 crore shares. The shares reserved for employees and shareholders were subscribed 1.30 times and 1.38 times respectively.

This strong response from institutional investors follows excellent response from anchor investors. On Monday, Jio traded at Rs. 1,119 to 212 anchor investors at around Rs. 8,110 crore shares were allotted. According to people with knowledge of the matter, the demand for the Langar allocation was over Rs 2.5 lakh crore.

Fully subscribed in 100 minutes

When the IPO opened for subscription on Wednesday, investors snapped up the offered shares in just 100 minutes, according to stock exchange data. The initial momentum sets Jio apart from other large public offerings in India. Bajaj Housing Finance’s IPO was fully subscribed by 2 pm on its first day, while LG Electronics India’s offer was fully subscribed by the end of the first day. Hyundai Motor India’s Rs. 27,870 crore IPO, which previously held the record for India’s largest public offering, was only 18 percent subscribed by the end of its first day in 2024.

Jio’s IPO is also structurally different from that of Hyundai and LG Electronics. In both those cases the existing shareholders sold their shares (offer for sale). Jio is issuing 27 crore new shares, which means the proceeds will go to the company instead of shareholders.

per share Rs. 1,065 to Rs. Under this IPO with a price of 1,119, the valuation of the Jio platform will be around US $ 108 billion according to the upper band. The offer is set to beat Hyundai Motor India’s record. Also, it is an important test in the public market for the digital and telecom business of billionaire Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries Ltd.

A real test for investors

The IPO is a major test of investor interest, tied to Jio’s ambitions to expand beyond telecom connectivity into digital services, cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI). The company cited its 533.3 million (53.33 crore) customer base as the basis for these businesses. The company’s aim is to convert its vast alliances into more profitable enterprise and technology revenues. Recent statistics show that institutional investors play a major role in this offering, while demand from retail investors is gradually increasing. Final subscription figures may change before the offer closes on Friday.