Bladewatch.com

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/01/31/bcnbnp131.xml

BNP Paribas has confirmed that it is considering a bid for Société Générale, the rival French bank hit by a £3.7bn trading scandal.

A BNP Paribas spokesman told Reuters: “We are studying it because all of Europe’s banks are studying it.”

The comments helped push Soc Gen’s shares up 1.5pc to €83 by mid afternoon.

The French government has warned off foreign or hostile predators, meaning any tie-up must be all-French and agreed by both banks.

It is not the first time that speculation of a merger between the two French banks has mounted.

In 1999 BNP successfully bid for Paribas but failed in its takeover attempt for Soc Gen. Since then rumours of a merger have persisted.

Very interesting, reuters had some more information about this, it will be interesting to see how the deal develops, and if any other banks are interested in a deal with Soc Gen.

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