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Speculation is rife in France that the board of directors at scandal-rocked Société Générale decided to retain embattled CEO Daniel Bouton only to allow him to do the one thing he's spent a decade avoiding: preparing the bank for acquisition by a hostile rival...
...their meeting Wednesday, board members said they had rejected Bouton's resignation in order to preserve stability while the bank is still reeling from the $7.13 billion loss resulting from derivative trader Jérome Kerviel's illicit futures speculation. Many cited Bouton's storied record of fiercely defending Société Générale's independence in the past. But even before that day had ended, the general surprise that greeted Bouton's survival gave way to anticipation that he'd been kept aboard as the best-placed expert to chose the best among several anticipated...
...First among those expected callers is BNP, France's largest bank by capitalization, which on Thursday confirmed it was considering, "a run at Société Générale" - though just "like all of Europe". The mere rumor of a possible buyout sent SocGen share prices up nearly 11% during trading Tuesday. The feasibility of a BNP offer - or hostile raid - further increased on Wednesday, when it announced 2007 profits of over $11 billion. But BNP is hardly the only player contemplating exploiting Société Générale's troubles to acquire...
...streets Thursday to demonstrate their determination to preserve its - and thus, they hope, their jobs. But given the apparent interest by competitors in acquiring the bank - and the enduring fallout over how the bad trades could occur over months - some observers are now convinced the eventual purchase of Société Générale is just a matter of time...
...bank or financial institution, the final page has ultimately been turned with the company being bought out," notes Jacques Mistral, head of economic research at the French Institute of Foreign Relations in Paris. Despite that record, Mistral says he doubts that Bouton is staying on specifically to prepare Société Générale's sale. "Everyone there is still fully focused on surviving this scandal - the here and now," Mistral argues. "When the time comes where it's inevitable Société Générale's must either merge with a partner...