Jio IPO day one: Participate for just ₹13,428—but can it close the ₹48 revenue gap with Airtel?
Ten years after sparking India's telecom price war, Jio Platforms is now opening its ₹3.02 trillion IPO to the public. Major institutions have shown strong interest. On October 19, institutional investors subscribed to anchor allocations worth over ₹2.5 trillion for the ₹810.985 billion offering—more than 30 times the size of the issue.
However, this offering price reflects that the market has changed. Jio's valuation in this listing is lower than that of its closest competitor, Bharti Airtel.
Jio IPO schedule
- Subscription begins: Wednesday, October 21
- Subscription deadline: Friday, October 23
- Allocation results: Expected on Monday, October 26
- Listing: Wednesday, October 28, on BSE and NSE
What is required to subscribe?
- Price range: INR 1,065 to INR 1,119 per share (face value of INR 10)
- Minimum subscription unit: 12 shares, resulting in a minimum subscription amount of INR 13,428 based on the upper limit of the range.
- Retail allocation: At least 35% of the net issuance
- Reliance shareholder quota: up to INR 250 billion
- Employee quota: up to 50 billion INR
All 2.7 billion shares issued in this offering are new shares, with no existing shareholders selling their stakes. Reliance Industries will continue to hold a controlling interest. This is also Reliance Group’s first IPO in nearly 20 years.
Who are the buyers in the anchored placement?
The anchor book allocated 724 million shares to 212 investors at ₹1,119 per share. The largest allocations included:
- Life Insurance Corporation of India: ₹49.998 billion
- New World Fund Inc: 48.627 billion INR
- Singapore government: 34.093 billion INR
- SBI Focused Fund: INR 31.5 billion
- BNP Paribas Financial Markets (ODI): INR 30.325 billion
Domestic mutual funds account for 34.34% of the anchor book, valued at INR 278.496 billion. Global investors participating in this book include BlackRock, Capital Group, Fidelity, T. Rowe Price, Schroders, JPMorgan Asset Management, Franklin Templeton, and Janus Henderson.
Jio IPO today's grey market premium
On October 20, the premium for Jio shares in the grey market was approximately ₹245. This suggests its listing price could be around ₹1,364 per share, about 21.9% higher than the upper end of the issue price range. Grey market prices are not official quotes and may change before listing.
Cheaper than Airtel
Based on the upper end of the offering price range, Jio's valuation is approximately ₹10.3 trillion, or about $107 billion. Bharti Airtel's market capitalization is approximately $123 billion. Jio is larger in nearly all operational metrics, but Airtel generates higher revenue per customer:
- Average Revenue Per User (June Quarter): Airtel at INR 264, Jio at INR 216
- EBITDA margin: Airtel at 57.4%, Jio at 53.3%
- Trailing 12-month P/E ratio: Airtel is near 37x, Jio is 33.2x
According to Bloomberg data, Jio has trailed Airtel in revenue per user for seven consecutive years. While Airtel has shifted toward higher-paying customers since 2019, Jio has continued to grow its user base.
Nomura’s Bineet Banka and Abhishek Bhandari wrote in a report on October 10 that, following its listing, Jio “may need to demonstrate its growth potential to public shareholders.”
Jio Financial Results
- FY26 revenue: ₹1.46 trillion, higher than ₹1.28 trillion
- Net profit: ₹300.49 billion, higher than ₹261.09 billion
- EBITDA: ₹762.55 billion, higher than ₹641.7 billion
- Net Debt/EBITDA: 0.36x in FY26, lower than 0.88x in FY24
Up to ₹275 billion in proceeds will be used to repay Reliance Jio Infocomm’s debt. This will provide Jio with greater investment flexibility while it awaits regulatory decisions on its satellite application, which relates to Elon Musk’s Starlink.
What is Akash Ambani betting on?
Managing Director Akash Ambani said Jio’s next phase of growth will come from technology, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing. He told PTI, “At Jio, there is no either-or: the network is our technology.” He noted that around 260 million people in India still use 2G phones, and only about 21% of households have access to fixed broadband.
When it comes to pricing, Ambani said that Jio has always had the ability to raise prices, but its priority is to provide customers with more services.
Changes in the ranking of Indian enterprises
Based on IPO valuation, Jio will become India’s fourth-largest listed company, after Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, and HDFC Bank. According to ET Intelligence, the consolidated market capitalization of the Reliance group will rise to approximately ₹28.5 trillion, surpassing Tata Group’s ₹25.5 trillion to become India’s most valuable business conglomerate.
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