Meta- and Google-backed Jio Platforms’ shares soar over 21% on trading debut after record IPO

MarketsPublished Wed, Oct 28 202612:34 AM EDTUpdated 17 Min AgoKey PointsJio raised 302 billion rupees ($3.2 billion) in the country's largest-ever IPO.Global brokerage Nomura on Wednesday gave Jio Platforms a buy rating.Signage for Jio Platforms Ltd. ahead of the company's listing ceremony at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesJio Platforms' shares rose 21.4% on their trading debut Wednesday after a record initial public offering that was lapped up by retail as well as institutional investors.India's largest telecom and digital services player had offered 270 million shares in the IPO priced at 1,119 rupees apiece, raising 302 billion rupees ($3.2 billion) in the country's largest-ever IPO. The public issue was subscribed more than 22 times, with institutional investors leading the demand, according to data from the BSE. The qualified institutional portion was subscribed 70.55 times, while retail investors subscribed 2.72 times. The IPO was fully subscribed within 95 minutes of its opening on Oct. 21, Akash Ambani, managing director of Jio Platforms and heir of the Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, said ahead of the listing. Global brokerage Nomura on Wednesday gave Jio Platforms a buy rating, setting a target price of 1,340 rupees, implying an upside of 19.7% to its IPO price. The brokerage said in a report that Jio's capex cycle is largely over and there is expected to be a sharp improvement in the company's free cash flow.Shares were last trading at 1,357 rupees.Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's flagship company, Reliance Industries, owns more than a 66% stake in Jio Platforms, followed by Meta Platforms' affiliate Jaadhu Holdings that owns nearly 10% and Google International, which owns 7.7%, as per LSEG data.Leading global funds such as BlackRock, Capital Group and GIC participated in Jio's anchor book portion of the total fundraise, which is set aside for large institutional investors before the IPO opens for public bidding. Including anchor investors, the share offering garnered demand of $78 billion.