HSBC Holdings is set to acquire Crédit Commercial de France (CCF) for €11bn, adding to the spate of merger activities which has swept through the banking sector already this year.

HSBC is offering €150 in cash for each CCF share. ING Groep of Netherlands, which was previously in the running to acquire CCF, has bowed out of the race and is now due to receive a €900m pre-tax capital gain on its 19.05% stake in the French bank.