Draft offer document filed for Coal India IPO

CIL is also keen to ensure retail participation and is pitching hopes on its vast employee-base. It has begun a programme of sensitising its employees for opening the demat accounts necessary for stock market operations

GOING PUBLIC: Minister of State (I/C) for Coal Sriprakash Jaiswal with P.S. Bhattacharya, Chairman of Coal India Limited. File photo

The draft offer document for selling 10 per cent of the equity of the public sector Coal India Ltd (CIL) was filed late on Monday afternoon, paving the way for the divestment of a portion of the 100 per cent government holding in the company, which has been described as the world’s largest coal producer.

The 375-page draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) for the Initial Public Offer was filed with the capital market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India. With an offer of 630 crore shares constituting 10 per cent of the Rs. 6316.36 crore share capital of the behemoth, the IPO may be the biggest-ever. CIL is keen to launch the issue in the second half of October, 2010.