* Roadshow early Nov, subscription period mid/end Nov
* Volume of 1 bln eur targeted, could be more if demand
* Main goal boosting capital, not repaying state aid
* Erste share extends losses, down 1.2 percent
(Adds detail, background)
By Alexander Huebner and Philipp Halstrick
FRANKFURT/VIENNA, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Austria's Erste Group Bank is planning to start a roadshow for a rights issue of at least 1 billion euros ($1.47 billion) in early November, two sources familiar with the deal said on Wednesday.
The share sale is mainly aimed at bolstering capital of emerging Europe's third-biggest lender, which is struggling with rising bad debts in the crisis-stricken former Communist part of Europe, in particular in Romania.
Erste would join a list of European banks tapping markets, including Erste's main competitor in eastern Europe, UniCredit, as well as Societe Generale and BNP Paribas.
The deal comes as investors have overcome their scepticism on emerging European banks, which bordered on panic in February and March. Erste's share price has more than quadrupled since a low of 6.84 euros reached on Feb. 24.
At least eight analysts have raised their target prices for the stock in the past month, including Morgan Stanley on Tuesday by a whopping margin to 30.05 euros from 7 euros.
"It would make a lot of sense if they were to push forward with this," said Matthias Siller, who helps manage Barings Asset Management's $1.9 billion emerging European equities fund.
The subscription period for the rights issue is planned for mid- to late November, the sources said. The volume of the issue could be higher than 1 billion euros if demand is good.
Erste shares slightly widened losses on Wednesday, trading down 1.2 percent at 28.79 euros by 1437 GMT.
A spokesman for Erste declined to comment.
STATE AID
Unlike BNP and SocGen, Erste does not aim primarily to pay back 1.2 billion euro in state capital it received earlier this year, the sources said. Rather, the bank's main goal is to reach a "solid" Tier 1 ratio, they said.
However, with new equity under its belt, Erste may try and walk away from plans to raise an additional 1 billion euros in hybrid debt from the government. This debt would rank as lower quality Tier 1, not as core Tier 1 capital as equity does.
To pay back the capital received and do without the hybrid debt, Erste would have to raise around 2.2 billion euros. However, such a deal would be likely to dilute its main shareholder, a foundation.
Erste is one of Europe's least capitalised banks with a core Tier 1 ratio of 6.6 percent at the end of June even including the state capital it already received, despite its presence in some risky markets.
Erste owns the biggest bank in Romania, the Balkan country which has received a 20 billion euro emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund to fend off financial crisis.
Erste Chief Executive Andreas Treichl last week listed "low capitalisation" among his bank's weaknesses in slides prepared for a presentation at an investor conference, although he added that this was "justified", without elaborating on the slides. ($1=.6802 Euro) (Additional reporting by Eva Komarek and Boris Groendahl in Vienna, writing by Boris Groendahl; Editing by David Cowell)