Coal India Stake Sale for Non-Retail Investors Begins Amid Market Holiday

The Indian government initiated a two-day offering to sell up to 2% of its stake in Coal India, targeting non-retail investors starting Wednesday. The shares, priced at a floor price of Rs 412 each, are expected to generate approximately Rs 5,000 crore for the government coffers.

The offering includes a green-shoe option of an additional 1% stake. Retail investors will have the opportunity to bid on May 29, a day after a market holiday. On the first day, bids for over 27.39 crore shares, about 5% of the offered stake, were submitted shortly after market opening, at an indicative price of Rs 414.57 each.

Currently, Coal India's stock was trading at Rs 447.70, marking a 2.30% decline from Tuesday's closing. This divestment represents the second sale of a public sector firm this fiscal year following the government's recent sell-off of an 8.08% stake in the Central Bank of India, which raised Rs 2,266 crore. The government aims to achieve Rs 80,000 crore from disinvestment and asset monetisation in the fiscal year FY27, significantly up from the revised estimate of Rs 33,837 crore for FY26.

(With inputs from agencies.)