Bank of Cyprus has made a cash-and-stock bid for Emporiki Bank of Greece, a lender which is also being pursued by French bank Credit Agricole.
Bank of Cyprus has made a public tender offer to the shareholders of Emporirki Bank for 100% of the Greek bank’s shares, comprising of E6 in cash and 3.25 Bank of Cyprus shares for each Emporiki share, according to the Cypriot firm’s website.
This values the offer at E28.55 per share, based on the last share closing price of Bank of Cyprus, topping Credit Agricole’s offer of E23.50 for each Emporiki share. Bank of Cyprus told analysts in a conference call that it wanted to create a combined bank with Emporiki’s branch network complementing its own.
The bank added that if shareholders accept its offer, the deal should close in August 2006, as it is not anticipating any delays in regulatory approval.