Bharat Coking Coal's IPO Creates History With 90 Lakh Applications

Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL) has created history in India’s primary markets, with its initial public offering attracting an unprecedented 90 lakh applications, the highest ever for a PSU IPO.

The issue, which is also the first main-board IPO of 2026, witnessed record-breaking demand across investor categories.

The BCCL IPO drew bids worth Rs 1.17 lakh crore, translating into an overall subscription of 146.87 times, making it the second-most subscribed PSU IPO by subscription multiple and the third-most bid-for PSU IPO by total capital committed.

Market participants noted that the issue witnessed one of the highest subscription levels seen in recent public offerings, underscoring strong confidence in the company and the broader PSU investment theme.

Demand for the BCCL IPO was driven primarily by qualified institutional buyers and high-net-worth individuals, both of whom showed extraordinary appetite for the issue. The QIB portion was subscribed a staggering 310.81 times, while the non-institutional investor category saw subscriptions of 258.16 times.

Retail participation was also robust, with the retail individual investor segment subscribed 49.33 times, reflecting strong interest from smaller investors despite the issue being heavily dominated by large-ticket bids. The Coal India shareholder quota witnessed a subscription of 87.29 times, while the employee portion was subscribed 5.18 times.

With this response, BCCL now ranks among the most subscribed PSU IPOs in Indian history. By subscription multiple, the top PSU IPOs stand as follows: Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders (2020) at 157.41 times, followed closely by Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (2026) at 146.87 times, and IRCTC (2019) at 111.91 times. Other notable names on the list include HUDCO (2017) and Cochin Shipyard (2017).

In terms of investor participation, BCCL’s 90 lakh applications set a new benchmark. The previous high was held by Waaree Energies, whose IPO in late 2024 had garnered 82.65 lakh applications, now a distant second.

The Rs 1,300-crore issue was entirely an offer for sale of 46.57 crore equity shares by promoter Coal India Ltd. The price-band of the IPO was Rs 21-Rs 23.

The allotment of shares to IPO investors will be done tentatively on Jan. 14, and it will be credited to the demat account on Jan. 15. Bharat Coking Coal will list on the BSE and NSE on Jan. 16.

The book running lead managers to the IPO are IDBI Capital Markets & Securities Ltd. and ICICI Securities Ltd.