Reliance's Jio raised $854 million from anchors including BlackRock and Allianz

Reliance Industries' telecom and digital services unit Jio Platforms raised 81.1 billion rupees ($854 million) from anchor investors including BlackRock $BLK, Fidelity Management & Research, Capital Group and Allianz ahead of its initial public offering, according to Bloomberg.

The anchor allocation was priced at the ceiling of the marketed range, 1,119 rupees per share.

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the Government of Singapore, Qatar Investment Authority and Norges Bank Investment Management took part in the anchor book, according to Bloomberg. Life Insurance Corporation of India, SBI Funds Management, ICICI Prudential $PRU Asset Management and HDFC Asset Management held some of the biggest anchor positions.

Institutions put in bids worth nearly $25 billion, roughly 30 times the portion set aside for anchors, according to Reuters. Fidelity, GIC, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and BlackRock were among the bidders, according to Reuters. Institutional investors may take up as much as 30% of the shares on sale.

Jio is targeting proceeds of up to 302 billion rupees, with shares priced between 1,065 and 1,119 rupees each and a valuation ceiling of 10.3 trillion rupees, according to Bloomberg. Public subscription opens Wednesday and closes Oct. 23.

At the low end of the range, the deal would bring in roughly 287 billion rupees. That would exceed the 278 billion rupees Hyundai Motor India raised in October 2024, which stands as India's largest IPO, according to Bloomberg.

Jio Platforms set the price band last week in an exchange filing from Reliance. The top of the range values the company at $108 billion. The IPO would set a record for India in rupee terms but rank No. 2 when measured in dollars, behind Hyundai Motor India's $3.3 billion listing in 2024.

Reliance holds a stake of more than 66% in Jio Platforms. Meta $META Platforms' affiliate Jaadhu Holdings owns close to 10%, and Google $GOOGL International owns 7.7%. The IPO prospectus shows neither investor plans to sell shares in the offering.

Jio intends to put as much as 275 billion rupees ($2.90 billion) of the net proceeds toward paying down, or paying off early, debt owed by its telecom subsidiary Reliance Jio Infocomm, according to Reuters. Reliance did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.