Bank J. Van Breda has prolonged its € 110m counterbid for ABK (instead of withdrawing) so that it now expires in line with CMNE's bid for AKB. The prolongation doesn’t prevent Breda from potentially increasing its bid at a later stage. Our View: We remind that Bank J. Van Breda launched a friendly counterbid on Antwerps Beroepskrediet (ABK) in an offer that valued the Antwerp-based banker at € 115.2m (€ 490 p.s). The Breda offer represented a premium of 19.5% above the initial CMNE bid (€ 410 p.s.). Moreover, Breda received the irrevocable agreement from directors and shareholders of ABK for a combined 36.7% of all outstanding shares. CMNE, however, reacted by upping its bid to € 540 p.s. (+31.7% vs. its initial bid) to value ABK at € 132.3m. Breda’s offer is pretty hefty as it amounts to 27.7% of the € 415m estimated valuation (KBCS, 100%). Breda’s CAD solvency ratio at 1H10 stood at 14.1% (minimum req.: 8%) and its BIS Tier 1 Capital Ratio stood at 10.9% (minimum req.: 4%), so it has amplemanoeuvring space to fund the bid out of its own balance sheet. Conclusion: We’re not in a position to estimate to which extent Breda’s prolonged offer and/or CMNE’s revised offer will prompt ABK’s shareholders (which didn’t already pledged an aggregated 36.7% of ABK shares to Breda) to opt for the money rather than for an industrial project. The news in any way doesn't impact Ackermans NAV, which we estimate at € 81.85 (13.9% discount).