Global asset managers led the anchor line, with BlackRock Inc., Fidelity Management & Research, Capital Group and Allianz SE in the mix. Big sovereign pools also showed up, including Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Government of Singapore, Qatar Investment Authority and Norges Bank Investment Management. The filing noted strong interest from domestic mutual funds and insurers, with Life Insurance Corporation of India, SBI Funds Management Ltd., ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co. and HDFC Asset Management Co. among the largest local anchors.
The anchor tranche was set at the very top of the price band, with 72.47 million shares priced at 1,119 rupees each to raise 81.1 billion rupees, or $854 million. The full offering could comprise up to 270 million shares priced in a 1,065-1,119 rupee range, targeting proceeds of up to 302 billion rupees, and even the floor price would raise about 287 billion rupees. That lower tally would still edge past Hyundai Motor India Ltd.'s 278 billion rupee IPO in October 2024, now the country's largest. Subscriptions open Oct. 21 and close Oct. 23.
Jio Platforms, the telecom and digital services arm of Reliance Industries Ltd., is pursuing a potential equity value up to 10.3 trillion rupees. The IPO includes share reservations worth up to 5 billion rupees for eligible employees at about a 5% discount, plus up to 25 billion rupees reserved for eligible Reliance Industries shareholders. The shares on offer equal roughly 2.9% of Jio's post-issue equity, based on Bloomberg calculations. Nineteen banks are on the ticket, including Kotak Mahindra Capital Co., Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Corp., Axis Capital Ltd., BNP Paribas SA and Citigroup Inc.
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Anchors of this caliber can steady early trading, but the bigger signal is scale: this is set up to be India's largest-ever share sale. The combination of a full price band anchor allocation, heavy domestic participation and clear reservations for employees and Reliance shareholders outlines strong pre-listing support. For position sizing, note the potential 10.3 trillion rupee valuation and the roughly 2.9% float at listing.
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