Coal India Ltd is likely to hit the market with its initial public offer (IPO) in the second week of August with the draft red herring prospect (DRH) to be tentatively filed by June.
CIL chairman Partha S Bhattacharyya after meeting Sebi chairman CK Bhave in Mumbai on Friday told FE over the phone that the issue of allotting shares to CIL employees has been discussed along with the issues of timing the IPO launch.
?I have asked Sebi to leave a certain number of shares at our dispensation for offering to the employees of our seven subsidiaries,? Bhattacharyya said.
He said while the officers of all subsidiaries are centrally administered by CIL, workers of all seven subsidiaries are regulated by uniform CIL policies. So even as the subsidiaries are different companies, they function like departments of CIL. So CIL can have in its dispensation some shares to offer to the employees of its subsidiaries, Bhattacharyya said.
He said that the Sebi chairman has promised to sort out the issue shortly and decide over the mode of offering shares to the employees of its subsidiaries as well to the land losers, whose land has been acquired for mining.
CIL intends to offer 1% of its equity to its 4,00,000 odd work force spread over its seven subsidiaries and in CIL itself through the Employees Stock Option Scheme. The government is likely to offer 10% of its holding to the public, which would be finally decided by the Cabinet.
Coal ministry and department of divestment officials accompanied the CIL chairman to the meeting with Sebi on Friday.