The Bank of Ireland has expressed its "surprise" at this morning's announcement from Abbey National rejecting a takeover and has insisted that an acquisition is still on the cards.
A statement from the Bank of Ireland expressed surprise that Abbey had "adopted such a position without any engagement or discussion between the two companies".
The board of Abbey National met yesterday and "carefully considered" the preliminary approach from Bank of Ireland, a statement released on behalf of the company said this morning.
"The board unanimously concluded that the most effective means of restoring value to Abbey National shareholders at this time will be to achieve the operating and structural changes targeted in the interim statement on 26th July 2002," the statement concluded.
The bank said it had given Abbey "sufficient detail" of its intent of the financial benefits for shareholders, and of the structure of a combined group, to merit "meaningful engagement and consideration in the interests of its shareholders".
It added: "Subsequently, Bank of Ireland made repeated efforts to achieve engagement with Abbey National.
"Bank of Ireland reiterates its view that, subject to agreement on appropriate terms and satisfactory due diligence, a combination of Bank of Ireland Group and Abbey National would deliver significant value for both sets of shareholders."
It said it would issue a more detailed statement on its proposals in due course.
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