Billed as the country's largest initial public offer, the issue attracted bids for over 656 crore shares against 63.1 crore equities on offer, as per data valid up to 1700 hours on the National Stock Exchange.

The issue is priced in the range of Rs 225 to Rs 245 a share. The government is divesting 10 per cent of its stake in CIL, the world's largest coal producer. At the upper end of the price range, Coal India's public issue is worth Rs 15,475 crore and at the lower end, it would fetch about Rs 14,211.81 crore.

According to an analyst, CIL's IPO is a big hit with investors. They are investing hugely in the public offer and it will be a market driver rather than market-driven, he said. The offer closes on October 21. For institutional buyers, the IPO will close on October 20. The issue price will be decided by a Group of Ministers on October 24.

The Navratna company is expected to list on the domestic bourses by November 4. Anil Ambani Group company Reliance Power's public issue, which mopped up Rs 11,500 crore in January, 2008, was India's biggest IPO till the ongoing CIL public offer.

CIL is the largest coal producer and coal reserve holder in the world, accounting for 82 per cent of total production in India. Citigroup Global Markets India, Deutsche Equities India, DSP Merrill Lynch, Enam Securities, Kotak Mahindra Capital and Morgan Stanley India are the book running lead managers to CIL's IPO.