BancWest buyer may want French bank, too

Bloomberg News Service

PARIS — Societe Generale SA shares rose 4.3 percent amid speculation that France's third-largest bank, with a market value of $27.1 billion, may be a takeover target, investors said.

Paris-based BNP Paribas SA was cited as a possible buyer, they said. BNP Paribas Chairman Michel Pebereau said earlier in the week that the company isn't planning any "major acquisitions" before the end of the year.

"I've heard the rumor," said Helmut Hipper, who helps manage 60 billion euros at Union Investment GmbH in Frankfurt. "They have a lot of synergies in their retail and other investment banking businesses."

SocGen spokeswoman Stephanie Carson-Parker and BNP spokeswoman Michele Sicard said they weren't aware of any takeover plans.

"There are currently no discussions taking place over any sizable acquisition," Pebereau told shareholders Tuesday. The bank will examine any suitable opportunities that may arise "providing they can be carried out in a friendly way," he said in an interview to be published in French weekly Journal des Finances today.

The French bank agreed May 8 to purchase the 55 percent of BancWest Corp. — parent company of First Hawaiian Bank — it did not already own for $35 a share, or $2.5 billion.