Coal India to convert redeemable preference shares held in BCCL into equity

New Delhi, Mar 19 () Coal India Ltd (CIL) on Thursday said its board has approved converting Rs 2,539 crore-worth redeemable preference shares held in its arm Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL) into equity shares.

Pursuant to the conversion, the state-owned coal miner would get a total dividend of Rs 888.65 crore over a two-year period.

The approval was given by Coal India Ltd's board of directors during its meeting on Wednesday, according to a filing to the BSE.

The board has approved "conversion of Rs 2,539 crore of 50 per cent cumulative, redeemable preference shares into equity shares by BCCL... as per its Memorandum and Articles of Association," it said.

According to the filing, an amount of Rs 888.65 crore as dividend on preference shares at 5 per cent from the date of issue to the date of conversion into equity shares should be paid by BCCL in two years.

BCCL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Coal India.

Coal India accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal output. SID RAM HRS