Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Coal India Ltd (CIL), will launch its initial public offering on January 9, becoming the first public issue of 2026. The offer will close on January 13, with anchor investor bidding scheduled for January 8, according to the red herring prospectus.

The IPO is entirely an offer for sale of 46.57 crore equity shares by Coal India Ltd. Since it is an OFS, BCCL will not receive any proceeds from the issue, and the funds raised will go to the parent company. The company is expected to announce the price band, lot size and other issue-related details on January 5.

Market participants are expected to closely watch the BCCL issue as an early indicator of investor appetite for public sector undertakings in the new year, especially amid volatile global cues and evolving domestic market conditions.

The proposed listing is part of the government’s broader divestment strategy in the coal sector, aimed at unlocking value from Coal India’s subsidiaries and improving transparency and accountability through market listing.

Last year, Central Mine Planning and Design Institute Ltd, another Coal India arm, had filed draft papers with Sebi for an IPO via the OFS route. While BCCL is engaged in coal production, CMPDIL functions as Coal India’s technical and planning arm.

The IPO comes after a strong primary market performance in 2025, when companies raised nearly Rs 1.76 lakh crore, surpassing collections in both 2024 and 2023.