By Inti Landauro
PARIS--French bank Societe Generale SA (GLE.FR) successfully
carried out a tender offer to buy out the outstanding shares in
Boursorama (BRS.FR) as part of an effort to boost its presence in
the online banking sector.
Societe Generale, which already held 55.4% in online bank
Boursorama, had offered to pay 12 euros ($16.44) for its
outstanding shares in a deal that valued the company at just over
EUR1 billion. The offer expired on May 16 after shareholders
tendered 20% of the Boursorama shares to Societe Generale, which
now directly controls 75% of the online bank, the French stock
market regulator said Thursday.
Societe Generale had offered a 22% premium on the share price
before the tender offer was announced.
Separately, the French bank signed a shareholders agreement with
Spanish bank CaixaBank SA (CABK.MC), which owns a little more than
20% in Boursorama. Together, the two banks now control 95.93% of
Boursorama, the regulator said in a statement. This gives them the
right to squeeze out minority shareholders and delist the
shares.
Boursorama's board had backed the Societe Generale offer.
-Write to Inti Landauro at inti.landauro@wsj.com
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