India's biggest share sale to date pulled in heavy orders despite a weeklong selloff in local stocks. The offering was fully subscribed within 100 minutes and closed more than 22 times covered by the end of bidding on Friday.
Investor interest was broad as well. Jio received more than 10 million applications, topping the previously reported high of about 9.7 million set by Waaree Energies Ltd. in 2024.
Institutional demand led the charge. Data on BSE Ltd.'s website show qualified institutional buyers placed orders equal to 71 times their allotted portion. The non-institutional pool, which includes wealthy investors, was taken up 14 times, while the retail tranche was covered 2.7 times.
Even with that momentum, Jio's overall subscription fell short of some recent Indian blockbusters. Last year, investors put in orders around 54 times the available amount for LG Electronics Inc.'s $1.3 billion sale of its local unit, while in 2020 SBI Cards & Payment Services Ltd. attracted nearly 27 times the shares on offer.
Jio is slated to debut on Oct. 28, and history argues for caution on first prints. Within this decade's Indian IPOs sized $2 billion or more, the four transactions recorded a weighted-average first-day drop of 9.9%, and just one - National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. - finished higher on its debut last month.
When big listings grab attention, stay informed with our free Market Briefs newsletter that explains markets in five minutes or less
Past examples of rocky starts include One 97 Communications Ltd. in 2021, which fell 27% on its first day, and Hyundai Motor India Ltd. in 2024, which slipped 7.2%. The bottom line: strong order books do not always translate to first-day gains, so watch how that Oct. 28 open shows up in your portfolio.
Even amid fast-moving deal coverage, get concise context each morning by subscribing to Market Briefs for free market summaries
