Allahabad Bk public offer to open on April 6

Allahabad Bank will tap the market early next fiscal to raise about Rs 900 crore.

O N Singh, chairman of Allahabad Bank, said: "We will come with our second public offer on April 6. The bank will issue 10 crore shares."

Singh was speaking to reporters after presenting the bank's interim dividend cheque to finance minister P Chidambaram today.

The bank had tapped the market three years ago, and raised about Rs 100 crore.

Going by the experience of PNB's second public offer, sources said Allahabad Bank could also offer its shares at a discounted rate for retail and existing shareholders.

The bank has appointed six leading merchant bankers - DSP Merrill Lynch, Kotak Securities, JM Morgan Stanley, SBI Caps, I-Sec and Enam Financial for managing the issue.

The bank is aiming at a deposit base of about Rs 39,000 crore and advances of Rs 21,000 crore in the current fiscal, Singh said.