Great Western Again Rejects Ahmanson Bid

Great Western Financial Corp.’s board on Tuesday again rejected a hostile takeover offer from H.F. Ahmanson & Co., reaffirming support for its acquisition agreement with Washington Mutual Inc.

Irwindale-based Ahmanson first approached Great Western shareholders with its $6.89-billion proposal in February, only to have its offer spurned for a $6.95-billion stock bid from Seattle-based Washington Mutual.

Ahmanson on May 12 said it asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to allow it to execute a stock swap with Great Western. On Tuesday, Great Western said SEC permission wouldn’t affect its decision.

“Our merger with Washington Mutual makes compelling economic and strategic sense for Great Western stockholders,” Chatsworth-based Great Western said.

The values of the competing offers have fluctuated with the price of the underlying stocks. The offer from Ahmanson, the largest U.S. thrift, exceeded Washington Mutual’s agreement throughout most of the takeover battle.

On Tuesday, Ahmanson’s offer jumped to $50 per share after its shares rose 75 cents to close at $42.25 on the New York Stock Exchange. It was the first time Ahmanson’s stock closed higher than $41.67, triggering terms specified in its increased takeover offer of March 17.

Washington Mutual, which agreed to pay 0.9 share for each Great Western share, rose 12.5 cents to close at $56 in Nasdaq trading. That gives its offer a value of $50.40 a share.

Great Western increased 62.5 cents to close at $47.75 on the NYSE. Most financial stocks were buoyed after the Federal Reserve Board left interest rates unchanged at its meeting Tuesday.

Time is running short, since Great Western scheduled a June 13 meeting for shareholders to vote on its Washington Mutual acquisition agreement. That’s the same day as its annual meeting.