The Dutch Supreme Court has lifted a major obstacle to a bid by Britain's Barclays to buy Dutch bank ABN Amro. The court has ruled ABN can sell its US subsidiary without shareholder approval.
The sale of ABN's US bank LaSalle to Bank of America for $21 billion is a key component in plans by Barclays to acquire ABN Amro, in what would be the largest 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.
Barclays has bid €67 billion for ABN Amro in a deal that would create the second largest euro zone bank in terms of market capitalisation. But the offer has been outgunned by an overture from a three-bank consortium headed by Royal Bank of Scotland which values ABN Amro at €71 billion.
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.
