Greek NBG's bid for Alpha has compelling merits

Greek National Bank's (NBG) all-share bid for Alpha, which was rejected on

Friday, is still valid and should be considered, a high-ranking NBG official told Reuters on Saturday.

"NBG's proposal to Alpha Bank is still on the table. We believe our offer has compelling merits and should be considered as such by all stakeholders," the official, who did not want to be named, said.

NBG, Greece's biggest bank, on Friday made an 8-for-11 share bid for Alpha, valuing it at around 3 billion euros ($4.0 billion). Alpha turned it down, saying it was not in its shareholders' interests.

by George Georgiopoulos

source: Reuters