Wall Street Journal
February 21, 2011
Shares in Greece's third largest bank by lending, Alpha Bank SA (ALPHA.AT), rose sharply Monday on hopes a deal will eventually be struck with National Bank of Greece SA (NBG), which Friday had a takeover offer rejected by Alpha.
NBG, Greece's largest lender, Friday announced a EUR2.9 billion all-share offer for its smaller rival, but Alpha's board unanimously rejected the offer, citing the "uncertainties of the current environment" and calling the terms less than "beneficial" for shareholders.
Shares in both banks were suspended lunchtime Friday as news of the approach broke, and Alpha shares jumped when trading resumed Monday morning. At 0855 GMT, just 25 minutes into the session, Alpha shares were up 16.2% at EUR5.58, while NBG shares were up 6.1% to EUR8.03, both in very high volume. The broader ASE general index was up 1.7% to 1,741.4.
"The market expects that the takeover deal is not dead yet and may well be rehabilitated or sweetened," said Maria Kanellopoulou, senior bank analyst at Euroxx Securities.
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