Dutch court lifts obstacle to ABN-Barclays takeover
Posted: 13 July 2007 1903 hrs

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THE HAGUE : The Dutch Supreme Court on Friday lifted a major obstacle to a bid by Barclays of Britain to buy ABN Amro, ruling that ABN could sell its US subsidiary without shareholder approval.

The sale of ABN's US unit LaSalle to Bank of America for US$21 billion (15.2 billion euros) is a key component in plans by Barclays to acquire ABN Amro, in what would be the largest ever takeover in the banking sector.

But in early May a Dutch commercial court froze the transaction, ruling that ABN shareholders had the right to vote on the sale.

That decision was then appealed to the supreme court by ABN Amro management, which has approved the Barclays takeover.

"The sale of LaSalle does not fundamentally change the structure of ABN Amro," the supreme court found.

"Management is not required to consult a shareholder general assembly."

Frans van der Grint, a spokesman for Bank of America, said later that BOA "will proceed as rapidly as possible with the transaction."

Barclays has bid US$90.1 billion (67 billion euros) for ABN Amro in a deal that would create the second largest eurozone bank in terms of market capitalisation.

But the offer has been dramatically outgunned by an overture from a three-bank consortium headed by Royal Bank of Scotland that values ABN Amro at 71 billion euros.

That offer is for all of ABN Amro, including La Salle.

The Royal Bank of Scotland sees the US unit as a means of expanding its activities on the US market. - AFP/ch