Coal India board approves up to 35% divestment in SECL, Mahanadi Coalfields

Coal India Limited's board on Monday gave an in-principle approval to divest up to 35% stake in its subsidiary South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL). The board also approved up to a 25% stake sale in another wholly-owned subsidiary Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL). In a meeting held today, the board approved the divestment of up to 25% of equity shares held by CIL in SECL through an Offer for Sale (OFS), along with the issuance of fresh equity shares aggregating up to 10% of the post-issue paid-up equity share capital, in one or more tranches, through an Initial Public Offer (IPO) or through other permissible market routes.The board of CIL also approved the divestment of a 25% stake in MCL via OFS in one or more tranches through an IPO or other permissible market routes in the domestic market.The board had already approved their listing on the exchanges through separate circular resolutions of December 23, 2025.The company said that it will communicate about its decision to the Ministry of Coal (MoC) for onward submission to DIPAM. The proposed listings will remain subject to the receipt of regulatory approvals.SECL is amongst the highest coal producing subsidiary company of Coal India and its coal mines are spread across Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.SECL operates 60 coal mines, of which 35 coal mines lies in Chhattisgarh State, while rest 25 coal mines are situated in Madhya Pradesh state. And of these 60 no of coal mines, 40 mines are worked by underground method of mining while rest 20 no of mines are opencast mines.Meanwhile, Mahanadi Coalfields is Miniratna company carved out of South Eastern Coalfields Limited in 1992 with its headquarters at Sambalpur.Coal India shares today ended nearly 3% lower on the NSE at Rs 455.25.The Nifty stock has outperformed its benchmark with returns of 12% over a 1-year period compared to approximately 4% fall in the heartbeat index.Coal India shares are currently trading above their 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages (SMAs) of Rs 434 and Rs 399, respectively, according to Trendlyne data.The state-owned company reported a 16% year-on-year (YoY) decline in its consolidated net profit at Rs 7,166 crore in the third quarter. The company has declared third interim dividend at Rs 5.5 per share for the financial year 2026. Revenue from operations in the December quarter fell 5% YoY to Rs 34,924 crore. This compares with Rs 36,858 crore in the last year quarter.(Disclaimer: The recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times.)