Greece's Alpha Bank and Eurobank merger awaits final nod
29 Aug 2011
Greece's second and third biggest banks, Eurobank EFG and Alpha Bank with Bulgarian subsidiaries, are expected to announce their merger later in the day.
Shares in both banks were suspended on the Athens stock exchange pending an announcement. An announcement is expected at about midday BST.
"The Athens stock exchange... has decided to suspend trading in their shares until investors are informed about the results of [the two banks' ongoing] board meetings and the terms of the deal," the bourse said in a statement.
Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), which is already an Alpha shareholder, is likely to take a bigger stake in the new bank. QIA holds 5 per cent of Alpha and is expected to take 15 per cent of the merged entity.
Alpha Bank had earlier rejected a merger offer from the country's biggest lender, National Bank in February
It has been reported that the new bank will be called Alpha Eurobank. After the capital injection, it will become Eurozone's 25th biggest bank, with assets of €150 billion ($218 billion), €80 billion in deposits with 2,000 branches and about 8 million customers in 10 countries across southeast Europe.
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