Alpha Bank SA, Greece’s third- biggest bank, rejected an unsolicited 2.8 billion-euro ($3.8 billion) takeover bid from National Bank of Greece SA, the nation’s largest lender, saying the offer was inadequate.
Alpha’s board voted unanimously to spurn National Bank’s all-stock offer, Athens-based Alpha said in a stock exchange filing today. National Bank urged Alpha to give the offer, made on Jan. 18th, “serious consideration,” saying it would create a stronger bank that would be less reliant on emergency funding.
The rejection “may be a ploy by Alpha to receive an improved offer” and National is likely to sweeten its bid, Athens-based broker Euroxx Securities said in a note to clients. A “tie-up between Alpha and National would constitute a key catalyst for a radical transformation of the Greek banking market, with a positive repercussion across other Greek banks.”
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