Punjab National Bank (PNB) has decided to hit the market on March 7 for raising close to Rs 3,000 crore through its second public offer of eight crore shares."Our issue will open on March 7 and close on March 11. The price band will be declared a day before the issue opens," a senior official said today.PNB officials held talks with finance ministry officials yesterday to finalise the date and other nitty-gritties.The issue will be priced through the book-building process, but the bank will fix a price-band in consultation with the finance ministry.The bank has appointed five merchant bankers - DSP Merrill Lynch, JM Morgan Stanley, Kotak Securities, I-Sec and Enam Financial - to manage the public offer.Of the eight crore shares on offer, PNB will reserve 80 lakh shares for existing small shareholders and an equivalent amount for employees."The remaining 6.4 crore shares will be sold to the public," the official said.Going by the present market price of Rs 422 per share, PNB sources said the bank is planning to mop up Rs 3,000 crore.The issue will bring down the government's holding in the bank to 57% from 80%.
