Banque Nationale de Paris
In early 1999, Paribas agreed to a 15-billion (USD $17-billion) buyout offer from Société Générale. Not wanting to be left behind, however, rival Banque Nationale de Paris made a hostile USD $21-billion counter-offer for Paribas, and an unimaginable, separate USD 19.6-billion offer for Societe Generale (SocGen). BNP’s three-way merger proposal would have created the world's largest bank.