Coal India's arm Bharat Coking Coal, Aequs get Sebi nod to float IPOs

Coal India arm Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL) and Aequs, a contract manufacturing firm for consumer durable goods and aerospace parts, have secured Sebi's approval to launch their initial public offerings (IPO), an update with the markets regulator showed on Monday.

BCCL approached Sebi with its draft papers in June, while Aequs filed through the confidential pre-filing route in the same month, seeking to raise around $200 million. Both firms received Sebi's observations for a public issue between September 18 and 19.

In regulatory terms, Sebi's observations are equivalent to clearance for launching a public issue. BCCL's issue will be entirely an offer for sale of 46.5 crore shares by its parent state-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL), with no fresh issuance component.

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Established to mine and supply high-grade coking coal, BCCL plays a critical role in powering India's steel sector, which depends heavily on its output.

Aequs' public issue will comprise both a fresh equity issue and an offer for sale. Accordingly to people familiar with the development, the company is planning to launch an IPO worth $200 million.

The company has steadily scaled operations with promoter support and has also attracted marquee global investors such as Amicus Capital, Amansa Capital, Steadview Capital, Catamaran (the family office of Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy), Sparta Group, and the investment office of Desh Deshpande.

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Aequs provides a vertically integrated precision manufacturing ecosystem for the aerospace and consumer sectors, operating across India, France, and the USA.

It also runs three manufacturing clusters– Belagavi, Hubballi, and Koppal—in Karnataka, giving it strong supply-chain capabilities to cater to global clients across industries.