24/7 Wall St.
February 18, 2011
National Bank of Greece SA (NYSE: NBG) is doing something that under the circumstances will seem off the map. It is trying to make an acquisition. It was not that long ago that there were serious worries about NBG’s future. Now NBG has made a friendly stock-for-stock offer to local Alpha Bank to acquire it.
NBG said the terms call for Alpha holders to receive 8 new NBG shares for each 11 outstanding Alpha shares, roughly a 23% gain to yesterday’s close in Athens. The Athens Stock exchange temporarily suspended trading in shares of both banks, but the news in Athens caused a local market rally of almost 3%.
To imagine that NBG is strong enough to acquire another bank might seem like a tough sell. It was just in late-2010 that the PIIGS were trying to recover from a near catastrophe that actually threatened the Eurozone. Shares are up 8.7% at $2.26 and the 52-week range is $1.48 to $4.50, but this was a $10.00 stock in 2008.
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