The listing of Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL), a subsidiary of Coal India, has been rescheduled to January 19, as trading on the BSE and NSE was suspended on January 15 due to local body elections in Maharashtra.

Despite the listing delay, the BCCL IPO’s grey market premium (GMP) remained steady, signalling that investor confidence in the issue remains intact even amid a longer wait for listing.

In the unlisted market, shares of BCCL were commanding a GMP of ₹13.25, marginally lower than the recent peak of ₹14, according to data from InvestorGain.com, a financial education platform. At the current premium, the stock is expected to list around ₹36.25, implying a potential upside of 58% over the IPO price of ₹23 per share.

The ₹1,071-crore IPO of the PSU company, which opened for bidding between January 9 and 14 at a price band of ₹21–23 per share, received an overwhelming response from all three investor segments. The issue drew bids worth ₹1.17 lakh crore, as it was subscribed 146.8 times, driven by record demand from institutional and high-net-worth investors. The IPO received over 90 lakh applications.

Exchange data showed that the qualified institutional buyers (QIB) portion was subscribed a record 310.81 times, receiving bids for 2,461 crore shares against an allocation of 7.91 crore shares. Within the QIB category, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bid for shares worth ₹7.43 lakh crore, while domestic financial institutions—including banks, insurance companies, and other FIs—put in bids worth ₹10.09 lakh crore. Mutual funds accounted for bids worth ₹1.07 lakh crore, as per the data.

The BCCL IPO also witnessed strong retail participation, though lower compared with institutional categories, with the segment subscribing 49.25 times. The employee reservation portion was booked 5.17 times, while the shareholder reservation category garnered 87.20 times bidding.

As per the DRHP filed with Sebi, the company reserved 50% of the issue for QIBs, while the quotas for retail and non-institutional investors were fixed at 35% and 15%, respectively. The PSU reserved shares worth ₹107 crore for eligible shareholders of Coal India under a dedicated shareholder quota, which were offered at a discount of ₹1 per share.

The overwhelming response to the IPO can be attributed to favourable sector fundamentals, the backing of parent Coal India, and expectations of healthy post-listing performance, as indicated by grey market trends.

The BCCL IPO is entirely an offer for sale (OFS) of 46.57 crore equity shares by its parent, Coal India. Under the OFS, the country’s largest coal miner will offload a 10% equity stake in the country’s largest coking coal producer. Ahead of the IPO, BCCL secured ₹273.10 crore from anchor investors by allotting 11.87 crore shares at the upper end of the price band at ₹23 each.

Incorporated in 1972, BCCL mines and supplies various grades of coking coal, non-coking coal, and washed coal, primarily catering to the steel and power industries. Its operations are concentrated in the Jharia coalfield in Jharkhand and the Raniganj coalfield in West Bengal—India’s only significant source of prime coking coal.     

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