PNB files papers for public offer

Punjab National Bank (PNB) has filed the draft red herring prospectus with Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for its second equity issue of eight crore new shares of Rs 10 each to be issued at a premium.

The offer for public would be for 6.4 crore shares while 80 lakh shares each would be reserved for employees and existing retail shareholders, respectively, investment banking sources said.

The offer document for the 100% book-built issue was filed with the regulator on January 14, sources said.

Part of the proceeds from the issue would be used to fund future growth and meet capital requirements arising of the implementation of Basel-II norms, they said.

The amount raised from the issue of three crore shares would be returned to the government, and an equvivalent number of shares (three crore shares) of Rs 10 each would be cancelled from the capital base, sources added.

ICICI Securities, DSP Merrill Lynch, Enam Consultants, JM Morgan Stanley and Kotak Mahindra Capial are among the lead managers for the issue.