ING makes pounds 6bn French bank bid

ING GROEP, the largest financial services company in the Netherlands, made a 10bn euro (pounds 6.2bn) takeover bid for Credit Commercial de France, France's sixth-largest bank. ING is offering 137.5 euros per share, a 14.7 per cent premium to CCF's closing price on Friday. CCF said its board received a letter from ING with the bid on Friday, and that it will consider the offer in a meeting on Thursday.

Amsterdam-based ING, which said its offer was friendly, has an 18.5 per cent stake in CCF. KBC Bancassurance Holding and Swiss Life have 18.2 per cent and 14.7 per cent stakes respectively. CCF said last month that third-quarter profits rose by 57 per cent on investment-banking earnings and growth in its retail banking and asset management subsidiaries.