Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC) priced its largest-ever rupee bond issue ahead of a merger with its banking arm, creating Indian financial services giant worth more than $200 billion.

India’s largest mortgage lender will sell Rs 25,000 crore ($3 billion) of notes due in ten years at a 7.97% coupon on Friday, people familiar with the matter said. The proceeds will support its housing finance business, said people familiar with the matter.

HDFC is stepping up borrowing from notes as its merger with HDFC Bank Ltd will make it harder to access the bond market. The merged entity will be classified as a bank, meaning it can only raise money through bonds to meet capital requirements or finance infrastructure projects.

HDFC was India’s largest issuer of rupee bonds last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The merger is expected to be completed within the next quarter. It will give HDFC access to banks’ low-cost demand, savings account deposits and fixed deposits, allowing the financier to continue expanding its assets, which stood at about Rs 7 trillion at the end of December.

The people said that Axis Bank Ltd, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank Ltd and ICICI Securities Primary Dealership Ltd are the arrangers for the offering.