Public bidding for the $3.2 billion initial public offering (IPO) of Jio Platforms opens on Wednesday, testing appetite for India's largest share sale to date and the first offering from billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance conglomerate in two decades.
The Jio Platforms IPO will be a major test of global appetite for new share offerings at a time when investors have sharpened their scrutiny of AI-related companies, with some analysts saying they could pivot away from the technology.
Backed by Meta, Google and institutional investors, Jio Platforms is home to India's largest telecoms company, with more than 500 million subscribers, making it the world's second-largest telecoms operator in a single country after China Mobile.
The IPO values Jio Platforms at up to $108.3 billion, potentially making it one of India's largest companies by market capitalisation when trading begins on 28 October, with around a third of the shares on offer reserved for retail investors.
Jio Platforms this week allotted shares worth $853 million to global and domestic investors, including Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and BlackRock, after bids for the portion reserved for such investors totalled more than $25 billion.
Festive launch date
Retail investors, employees and Reliance shareholders will be able to participate in the offering, which closes on Friday and has a price range of 1,065 to 1,119 rupees per share.
The IPO is the first from Reliance since 2006 and is larger than previous major listings, such as Hyundai Motor India and the National Stock Exchange.
Ambani first promised a listing within five years in 2019, but the plans were delayed in 2025 as well. A filing planned for as early as March was postponed after the Iran war dampened appetite for IPOs.
Jio Platforms' telecoms business, led by Ambani's son Akash, began in 2016 with a bet that Indians would use the internet far more if access cost almost nothing. It rapidly gained market share from rivals such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea by offering cheap data and free voice calls.
Jio Platforms is launching its IPO during an ongoing Hindu festive season, considered auspicious for purchases, although Indian markets have remained subdued in recent weeks.
Reliance paid salaries to its more than 400,000 employees about 15 days early this month, and the company helped facilitate share account opening services in recent weeks for those interested in applying for the IPO, a person in the industry with direct knowledge of the situation said.
Reliance did not respond to a request for comment.
Jio Platforms earned about $3.2 billion in profit on revenue of $15.5 billion in the year to March. Around 90% of both figures were attributable to its telecoms business alone.