en.Wedoany.com Reported - Mahendra Nahata invested in Jio Platforms at ₹10 per share, and his current book returns stand at an astonishing 11,983%, potentially making this the highest-return investment in Indian corporate history.
Nahata, founder and managing director of HFCL, purchased shares in Jio Platforms in July 2020 at ₹10 per share. Based on Motilal Oswal's current valuation of Jio Platforms at ₹10.7 trillion, the 0.54% stake held by the Nahata family, with a total cost of ₹4.787 billion, is now worth approximately ₹580 billion, representing a 121-fold return in less than six years. In comparison, Reliance Group allocated its first tranche of shares to Meta on the same day at ₹488.34 per share, while most global institutional investors that injected capital into Jio (including 13 entities such as Meta, Google, KKR, and Saudi Arabia's PIF) paid ₹549.31 per share. Nahata's entry price was a fraction of what these investors paid.
The origins of this investment date back to June 11, 2010. On that day, Infotel Broadband Services, affiliated with the Nahata family, won pan-India broadband wireless spectrum in an auction for ₹1.2872 trillion. Within hours of the auction results, Reliance Industries acquired a 95% stake in Infotel for ₹480 billion, retaining a portion of Infotel's equity. This 5% stake eventually evolved into Reliance Jio Infocomm (renamed in 2013 and restructured into Jio Platforms in 2019), forming the foundation of the current wealth.
By July 2020, the Nahata family's stake had been restructured through mandatory convertible bonds. On July 7 of that year, Mahendra Nahata, his son Anant Nahata, and his daughter Priyanka Sanghi converted the bonds into 37.04 million equity shares at ₹10 per share, with an investment of ₹3.704 billion. Reliance simultaneously issued an additional 10.83 million shares worth ₹1.083 billion, bringing the family's total holdings to 47.87 million shares, representing 0.54% of Jio Platforms.
An investment of ₹100,000 under the same terms as Nahata's 2020 conversion would be worth approximately ₹120 million today. The family's expenditure of ₹4.787 billion has, on a book basis, grown to ₹580 billion.
Nahata's connection to Jio extends beyond being a shareholder. HFCL is one of the key suppliers that actually built Jio's 4G fiber optic cable network, and Nahata has referred to Jio as an "excellent payer" for turnkey projects. HFCL, founded by Nahata in 1987, has benefited from Jio's expansion as a contractor and supplier.
Like other Jio shareholders outside of Reliance, Nahata is not expected to sell shares in the upcoming IPO. Jio Platforms' DRHP does not include an offer-for-sale component; the entire issue is a fresh issuance of up to 270 million shares aimed at raising funds for debt repayment and corporate purposes. Jio Platforms is expected to list with a market capitalization of nearly ₹14 trillion, while the combined RIL-Jio entity could have a market cap of ₹32 trillion.
This article is compiled by Wedoany. All AI citations must indicate the source as "Wedoany". If there is any infringement or other issues, please notify us promptly, and we will modify or delete it accordingly. Email: news@wedoany.com
