France's largest bank in terms of assets, BNP Paribas SA, reportedly placed a non-binding bid to purchase Rabobank Groep's Polish agricultural lender. The bid is the bank's way to expand into the largest economy in Eastern Europe.
BNP's offer covered 99% of Bank Gospodarki Zywnosciowej SA, a Warsaw based lender. The said offer was reported in the bank's regulatory documentation recently filed. A previous bid was made by Italy's UniCredit SpA while Spain's Banco Santander had mulled over making a bid. The bank being subject of the bids is popularly known as BGZ, has been estimated to have a market value of PLN 3.66 billion or USD1.22 billion.
Poland has been one of Europe's most active markets for takeovers since 2010. Amongst the deals made was PKO Bank Polski SA, the biggest bank in Poland, had agreed to purchase the Polish assets of Nordea Bank AB. Banco Santander had acquired Bank Zachodni WBK SA in 2012 and then merged with Kredyt Bank SA. The resulting bank became the third largest bank in terms of assets last January.
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