KOLKATA: The centre has decided to sell 3% in Coal India through an offer for sale with a green shoe option to sell another 6% to financial institutions and retail investors at a floor price of Rs 266 per share.It will allow Coal India to conform to the minimum public holding norm of 25% and help the government raise a minimum of Rs 4421.5 crore at the base price. In case the total green shoe option is exercised the government may be able to raise a minimum of Rs 9.907 crore. For a total 9% stake the centre may be able to raise a minimum of Rs 14,328.5 crore.Employees of Coal India would be receiving a 5% discount on the offer price hence the minimum amount is likely to be around Rs 14,000 crore, a Coal India executive said.At present centre holds 78.32% in Coal India which is 3.32% short of the 25% mandatory public holding mark. This 3.32% in the company needs to be divested by the government in order to comply.“The norm required Coal India’s public holding to be at least 25% by August 21 this year. However, the deadline was recently extended by two years,” said a senior Coal India executive.The original deadline for complying with the 25% public holding norm was August 21 last year. Looking at a dull stock market during 2017 the government decided to skip the last round of divestment in Coal India as its scrip price had dipped significantly making it impossible to fetch the sum it was planning to. Initial plans included divesting between 5% and 10% by August 2017 and it was looking at raising Rs 20,000 crore in the process.