Jio Platforms raises Rs 8,110 crore from over 200 anchor investors; draws Rs 2.5 lakh cr demand

Ahead of India's largest-ever initial public offering (IPO), Jio Platforms raised nearly Rs 8,110 crore from anchor investors. The company disclosed the allocation in an exchange filing late on Monday, October 19. The IPO will open for public subscription on Wednesday, October 21, following a market holiday on Tuesday, October 20.

Jio Platforms allocated 7,24,74,066 equity shares at Rs 1,119 apiece, raising a total of Rs 8,109.85 crore through its anchor book. A total of 212 investors participated in the allocation, including 25 domestic mutual fund houses, 22 life insurance companies and pension funds, and 85 global funds.

According to banking sources, the anchor book attracted aggregate institutional demand of more than Rs 2.5 lakh crore, reportedly the first time an Indian IPO has crossed this mark. Demand exceeded 30 times the anchor allocation.

Sovereign funds and global institutions participate
Key sovereign and government-backed investors in the anchor book included the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the Government of Singapore, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Norges Bank Investment Management and other institutional investors.

Global financial institutions such as BNP Paribas Financial Markets, Citigroup Global Markets, Société Générale and BofA Securities Europe also participated.

Other international investors included BlackRock Global Funds, JPMorgan, Allianz Global Investors, Fidelity, Schroders, New World Fund, Redwheel, Eastspring, Prudential Hong Kong, Morgan Stanley Investment Funds, T. Rowe Price New Asia, Integrated Core Strategies, Citadel Securities Singapore, DF International Partners II and INQ Holding.

Mutual funds and insurers among anchor investors
A total of 25 asset management companies participated through 95 schemes. These included SBI Mutual Fund, HDFC Mutual Fund, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund, Kotak Mutual Fund, WhiteOak Capital, Nippon India Mutual Fund, Axis Mutual Fund, Bandhan Mutual Fund, Franklin Templeton, Mirae Asset, Canara Robeco, Baroda BNP Paribas Mutual Fund, Helios and Mahindra Manulife.

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) received an allocation worth Rs 500 crore. Other participating insurers included HDFC Life, SBI Life, Axis Max Life, Bajaj Life, ICICI Prudential Life, Canara HSBC Life, Kotak Life and IndusInd Nippon Life. Pension funds associated with HDFC, SBI, ICICI and UTI also received allocations.

Jio Platforms IPO: Price band, lot size and listing date
Jio Platforms has fixed the IPO price band at Rs 1,065-1,119 per share. Investors can bid for a minimum of 12 shares and in multiples thereof. The issue comprises an entirely fresh issue of 27 crore equity shares, with no offer-for-sale (OFS) component. The subscription window will close on Friday, October 23.

The book-running lead managers to the issue include Kotak Mahindra Capital, Morgan Stanley, BofA Securities India, Axis Capital, BNP Paribas, Citigroup Global Markets India, CLSA India, DAM Capital Advisors, Goldman Sachs (India), HDFC Bank, ICICI Securities, IIFL Capital Services, HSBC Securities and Capital Markets, JM Financial, JPMorgan India, SBI Capital Markets, UBS Securities India and 360 ONE WAM.

KFin Technologies has been appointed registrar to the issue. Jio Platforms shares are scheduled to list on the NSE and BSE on Wednesday, October 28.

As of the latest available estimates, Jio Platforms was commanding a grey market premium (GMP) of Rs 250-255 per share, implying a potential listing premium of around 22-23 per cent over the upper end of the price band. The grey market is unofficial, and the premium does not guarantee the stock's listing performance.