What happened
Jio Platforms’ anchor book has reportedly drawn institutional demand of about ₹2.5 lakh crore, according to reports in CNBC-TV18, Business Today and BusinessLine, which cite sources. The anchor portion is ₹8,110 crore, so demand was more than 30 times the amount on offer.
CNBC-TV18 reported that this would be the first time any Indian initial public offering (IPO) has crossed that level of institutional demand. Official details of the anchor allocation were expected to be released later on 19 October.
An anchor book is the part of an IPO set aside for large institutions, which are allotted shares before the issue opens to the public. It can show how keen big institutions are, though it does not decide how the rest of the issue is subscribed or how the shares trade after listing.
Who is reported to have bid
- Overseas asset managers: the reports list several large international fund houses, including BlackRock, Fidelity, Capital Group, Schroders and JPMorgan Asset Management, as well as T. Rowe Price, Franklin Templeton, Invesco and Janus Henderson.
- Sovereign wealth funds (state-owned investment funds): those from Singapore (GIC), Abu Dhabi (ADIA), Qatar (QIA) and Norway (Norges Bank Investment Management).
- Indian mutual funds: SBI, ICICI Prudential, HDFC, Aditya Birla Sun Life, Nippon India and Kotak.
- Insurers and pension investors: LIC, HDFC Life, SBI Life, SBI Pension Funds, HDFC Pension and ICICI Prudential.
CNBC-TV18 also reported that most top-tier funds are likely to receive shares worth ₹400 crore to ₹450 crore, while a long tail of funds may get ₹10 crore to ₹20 crore each.
The IPO at a glance
The IPO seeks to raise ₹30,213 crore. It opens on 21 October and closes on 23 October. The price band, the range within which investors can bid, is ₹1,065 to ₹1,119 a share.
The offering is made up entirely of new shares, up to 27 crore, with no offer for sale by existing holders. BusinessLine reported that, according to the offer documents, proceeds are meant partly for debt repayment at its telecom subsidiary, along with general corporate purposes. It said the upper end of the band could value the company at about $108 billion. Business Today reported an implied valuation of ₹10.3 lakh crore.
BusinessLine, citing reported company figures, said Jio had 533.3 million subscribers as of June 2026 and handled nearly 60% of India’s data traffic.
What it means for you
If you are thinking of applying, the dates and price band above are the key facts to track. Strong anchor demand is one data point; it does not guarantee how retail or other investor categories subscribe, nor how the stock performs after listing.
Brokerages quoted by Business Today have issued their own views, and the report also noted that fund managers on global roadshows questioned the proposed valuation premium over Bharti Airtel, according to Bloomberg. You may want to read the offer documents and weigh your own risk appetite. Mutual fund investors may also hold Jio shares indirectly if their schemes took part in the issue.
Background
Jio Platforms is controlled by Reliance Industries and has grown from mobile connectivity into broadband, digital entertainment, cloud and enterprise services. Its listing would give public-market investors a direct route into the business, which has so far been held as a Reliance subsidiary. For how issues are structured, see our guide on how an IPO works.
