Despite muted sentiment in the broader equity market, Jio Platforms Ltd (JPL) IPO gets subscribed 3.16 times on the first day of bidding, attracting bids for 62.36 crore shares against 19.75 crore shares on offer, according to BSE data. The country’s largest IPO attracted bids worth Rs 95,500 crore on its first day, and the strong fund inflow led to the recovery of the rupee.
The rupee rose to its strongest level in six weeks on Tuesday, as foreign portfolio inflows related to Jio Platforms' issue and the central bank’s intervention helped the currency extend the ongoing recovery. The rupee hit a high of 94.4925 on Tuesday.
Qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) led the demand, with their portion subscribed 9.42 times. Non-institutional investors subscribed 1.68 times, while the retail portion stood at 0.733 times. Employee and shareholder quotas were subscribed 1.37 times and 1.46 times, respectively.
Earlier, the Rs 8,110 crore anchor book of JPL was oversubscribed more than 30 times, with institutional bids crossing Rs 2.5 lakh crore, setting a new benchmark for demand. JPL, billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s telecom and digital businesses, is seeking to raise Rs 30,213 crore at the upper end of the price band.
Jio’s IPO opens for subscription on October 21 and closes on October 23. The company has fixed the price band at Rs 1,065–1,119 per share.
The IPO comprises a fresh issue of 27 crore shares and is expected to raise Rs 30,213 crore at the upper end of the price band. The upper end values JPL at approximately Rs 10.3 lakh crore.
Hyundai Motor India’s Rs 27,870-crore IPO in 2024 now becomes the second-largest public issue, followed by the recently launched Rs 22,569 IPO of National Stock Exchange (NSE).
The high demand for the IPO comes as the unlisted shares of JPL continue to attract strong demand in the grey market. The latest grey market premium (GMP) has surged to Rs 255 per share, implying a 23% premium over the IPO’s upper price band of Rs 1,119.
The strong momentum before listing also comes as brokerages recommend subscribing to the IPO, citing Jio's dominant position in India's telecom market and its expanding presence in broadband, enterprise connectivity and digital services.
The company delivered Revenue/EBITDA/PAT CAGR of 15.8%/16.2%/18.5%, respectively, during the FY24-FY26 period, with earnings growth outpacing revenue growth due to operating leverage and improving scale, said SBI Securities in a note.
While giving a Subscribe rating, Geogit Investments said that at the upper price band of Rs 1,119, Jio is valued at 15x FY26 EV/EBITDA on a post-issue basis, implying a premium to industry peers
It added that the premium is justified by Jio’s market leadership, improving monetisation, strong cash flow generation, and substantial long-term optionality beyond its core telecom business.
“IPO-led deleveraging is expected to further strengthen the balance sheet. While the near-term upside may be moderated by the premium valuation, the monetisation of cloud, AI, enterprise solutions, entertainment, digital platforms, and fixed broadband services could emerge as key drivers of earnings growth over the medium to long term,” stated Geojit.