British bank Barclays has raised its offer for ABN Amro to €67.5 billion and included a cash element. It is seeking to regain the initiative in the world's biggest bank takeover battle.
Barclays said its new bid was €42.7 billion in shares and €24.8 billion in cash, up from its previous all-shares offer of around €65 billion.
But the new offer, which has been helped by a big investment in Barclays from China Development Bank and Singapore's Temasek, is still below a €71 billion bid from a group of European banks led by Royal Bank of Scotland.
Barclays said the Asian investors would invest up to €13.4 billion in the bank, with the amount depending on the outcome of the ABN bid. China Development Bank will take an initial 3.1% stake in Barclays, with Temasek taking 2.1%.
