Reliance Industries-backed Jio Platforms Ltd has made a landmark entry into the primary market, with its Rs 30,213-crore initial public offering (IPO) setting multiple benchmarks on the first day of bidding. The issue became India’s largest-ever IPO and attracted sufficient bids to cross full subscription at 10:36 am on Wednesday, October 21.
The speed of the response has placed Jio Platforms ahead of several recent large public offerings in reaching the full-subscription mark. Despite the size of the issue exceeding the offerings of Hyundai Motor India and LG Electronics India, investor demand pushed total bids beyond the number of shares available within the first few hours of trading.
Subscription data showed that the IPO had received bids for 25,20,52,632 shares against 19,75,25,934 shares on offer by 11:30 am, taking the overall subscription to 1.28 times. Qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) led the demand, while the retail and non-institutional investor segments had yet to reach full subscription at that stage.
Five Major Milestones Achieved by Jio Platforms
- India’s biggest public issue
Jio Platforms has claimed the top position in India’s IPO market with an issue size of Rs 30,213 crore. It has surpassed Hyundai Motor India’s Rs 27,870-crore offering, setting a new record for the country’s largest public issue. - Full subscription achieved before midday
The IPO reached full subscription at 10:36 am on its opening day, establishing a new benchmark for the speed at which a recent mega-IPO attracted bids equivalent to its entire offer.
For comparison, Bajaj Housing Finance’s IPO crossed full subscription at around 2 pm on its first day. LG Electronics India’s issue achieved the same milestone by the close of Day 1, while Hyundai Motor India’s offering was subscribed to just 18% at the end of its opening day.
- QIB demand reached full subscription in 28 minutes
Institutional participation was a major driver of the early response. The portion reserved for qualified institutional buyers was fully subscribed within 28 minutes of the issue opening.
By 11:30 am, bids in this category had reached 3.86 times the shares reserved for institutional investors, making QIBs the strongest-performing category at the time.
- Issue size exceeds other prominent recent offerings
At Rs 30,213 crore, Jio Platforms’ IPO is larger than Hyundai Motor India’s Rs 27,870-crore issue and LG Electronics India’s Rs 11,605-crore offering. The size of the issue underscores its significance in the country’s equity fundraising market.
- Fresh share issuance sets it apart from two major IPOs
Jio Platforms is raising capital through a fresh issue of shares. This differs from the IPOs of Hyundai Motor India and LG Electronics India, which were entirely offer-for-sale (OFS) issues.
Under a fresh issue, a company issues new shares and receives the proceeds. In an OFS, existing shareholders sell their holdings, with the proceeds going to those shareholders.
Investor Demand Across Categories
| Investor category | Subscription level |
|---|---|
| Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) | 3.86 times |
| Non-Institutional Investors (NIIs) | 0.42 times |
| Retail Individual Investors | 0.35 times |
| Employees | 0.78 times |
| Shareholders | 0.63 times |
By 11:30 am on October 21, the overall issue had received bids for approximately 25.20 crore shares against 19.75 crore shares on offer. The subscription figures across investor categories were as follows:
Within the non-institutional investor segment, applications above Rs 10 lakh had been subscribed 0.35 times, while applications below Rs 2 lakh had reached 0.56 times subscription.
The figures indicate that institutional investors were responsible for the strongest early demand, while retail investors and NIls had more ground to cover to fill their reserved portions.
How Jio Platforms Compared With Previous Mega-IPOs
The pace of bidding has emerged as one of the most notable features of the Jio Platforms issue. Bajaj Housing Finance’s public offering achieved full subscription at around 2 pm on its opening day, whereas LG Electronics India’s IPO reached the threshold only by the end of the first day.
Hyundai Motor India’s issue had received bids for 18% of its available shares by the close of Day 1. In contrast, Jio Platforms crossed the full-subscription mark at 10:36 am, even though its issue size was larger than those of Hyundai Motor India and LG Electronics India.
The opening-day response makes the offering a significant event for India’s IPO market. However, the subscription figures cited above reflect the position at 11:30 am and do not represent the final demand recorded at the close of bidding.