Coal India Ltd's subsidiary Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) has appointed SBI Capital Markets, Axis Capital, IIFL Capital Services, IDBI Capital Markets and Bank of Baroda Capital Markets as merchant bankers for its proposed initial public offering (IPO), two people familiar with the matter said.
The issue is likely to be sized around ₹10,000 crore, one of the people cited above said. “It could range between ₹8,000-15,000 crore and will comprise only an offer for sale (OFS), with Coal India selling a part of its stake in the company, the second person added.
“The appointments were approved a few days back with SBI being the left lead. It’s early days for discussions around valuations,” the people added.
Emails sent to Coal India, SBI Capital Markets, IIFL Capital, Bank of Baroda Capital Markets and IDBI Capital did not elicit a response till the time of publishing. Axis Capital declined to comment.
Listing plans
The development comes a few months after Coal India approved preliminary plans to partially sell stakes in two of its largest subsidiaries—South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL) and Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL)—as part of its broader subsidiary listing strategy.
The board had approved a proposal to divest up to 35% in SECL, comprising a 25% stake sale through an offer for sale and the issuance of fresh equity shares of up to 10% through an IPO or other permitted routes. The divestment may be undertaken in one or more tranches.
The listing plans followed an advisory from the Ministry of Coal, which had asked Coal India to initiate concrete steps to facilitate the listing of its subsidiaries in the current financial year, Mint had reported in December.
The company had then said the decisions were approved through a circular resolution of the board and were aligned with the Ministry of Coal's broader roadmap for subsidiary listings.
Key subsidiary
Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd, a Miniratna company, was incorporated in 1992 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of listed Coal India after taking over the assets and liabilities of South Eastern Coalfields Ltd relating to mines in Odisha.
The state-run miner is among Coal India's largest and most profitable subsidiaries. It is primarily engaged in coal mining and production, with the power and steel sectors among its largest customers.
MCL has four subsidiaries, of which two are engaged in coal mining and production, one in power generation, and another in the construction and operation of rail corridor projects.
In FY25, Mahanadi Coalfields reported consolidated net sales of ₹23,071 crore, compared with ₹23,809 crore a year earlier. Net profit stood at ₹10,824 crore, down from ₹11,841 crore in FY24, according to the company's annual report.
Total assets rose to ₹53,590 crore in FY25 from ₹50,688 crore a year earlier, while current liabilities increased to ₹14,200 crore from ₹13,335 crore.