Further Delays for Barclays’ ABN Takeover

by Gill Montia

Story link: Further Delays for Barclays’ ABN Takeover

Barclays’ proposed takeover of ABN Amro, the Dutch bank, may face further difficulties because uncertainty still exists over the sale of ABN’s US business, LaSalle. Despite the Dutch Advocate General’s ruling that the sale can go ahead without a shareholder vote, the actions of ABN’s board of directors could have been unlawful: it announced it was selling LaSalle to Bank of America at the same time as agreeing to a €65 billion takeover by Barclays.

A decision on the case by the Dutch Supreme Court is expected in mid-July and whilst the court will rule in line with the Advocate General’s opinion, further legal action could be taken by VEB, the Dutch shareholder group. This is a likely reaction from VEB because the Advocate General’s ruling is contrary to the Dutch court of appeal’s ruling, which stated that the sale of LaSalle required a vote by shareholders.

In the meantime, a rival takeover bid by a consortium led the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) continues to threaten Barclays’ acquisition plans. The RBS led bid of €71.1 billion includes the LaSalle business and it has yet to be established whether the sale of LaSalle was a means to frustrate a competitive bid from the consortium.