Fortis wins initial approval for ABN purchase

(Reuters) - Fortis, Royal Bank of Scotland and Spain's Santander have offered 71 billion euros , mostly in cash, for the Netherlands' largest bank in a bidding war that has featured legal and stakeholder battles.




Approval by Fortis shareholders of its proposed purchase of ABN AMRO's Dutch operations and of a 13 billion euro rights issue needed to finance its part of the deal would give the RBS-led consortium a boost at a time when the rival Barclays bid is suffering from the decline of its share price.


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ABN, RBS consortium say to continue takeover talks

(Reuters) - "ABN AMRO and the consortium have agreed to continue the constructive dialogue to resolve any outstanding questions regarding the offer of the consortium for ABN AMRO, and to maintain a level playing field," ABN and the RBS-led consortium said in a joint statement.




RBS , together with its partners Belgian-Dutch Fortis and Spain's Santander , is battling against Barclays to buy ABN in what would be the biggest ever bank takeover. Barclays' offer is worth about 65 billion euros.


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Barclays deal would boost ABN board pay: SEC data

(Reuters) - ABN's management and supervisory board withdrew its recommendation to merge with Barclays on Monday, but ABN Chief Executive Rijkman Groenink said ABN still supported Barclays' offer.




Asked whether ABN board members were more inclined to support Barclays because of the proposed levels of pay, an ABN spokesman said: "ABN and its advisors thoroughly investigated whether a potential conflict of interest could arise but that is absolutely not the case."


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ABN AMRO reports Q2, says is neutral on bids

(Reuters) - ABN said it was currently not in the position to recommend the offers from Barclays or the RBS-led consortium, which also includes Belgian-Dutch Fortis and Spain's Santander.




ABN had a net profit of 1.13 billion euros in the second quarter, compared with 1.216 billion euros a year earlier and the 1 billion euros average forecast in a Reuters survey of five analysts.


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Harris denies plans to push for UBS break-up

(Reuters) - The Sunday Times of London reported that Chicago-based
Harris had "secretly built a $1 billion stake" in UBS, which
has "faced calls from investors and analysts to split its
wealth management and investment banking divisions."




The paper did not directly say Harris was planning to
pressure UBS to split itself up. But it did say "the break-up
calls have gained support following the spectacular results of
TCI, the London hedge fund, in agitating for the break-up of
ABN Amro."


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Dutch Supreme Court begins delivering ABN ruling

(Reuters) - A commercial court in Amsterdam froze ABN's agreed deal to sell LaSalle to Bank of America for $21 billion in May, a ruling that is now being appealed before the Supreme Court by ABN.




The court had ruled that ABN would have to seek shareholder approval for the LaSalle sale, which could sway the acrimonious takeover battle for ABN between Barclays and a consortium led by Royal Bank of Scotland .


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CEVA plans $1.4 bln bonds for EGL purchase -lead

(Reuters) - Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bear Stearns,
UBS, JP Morgan and ABN AMRO are managing the sale.




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PKN postpones bond issue on volatile market -lead

(Reuters) - The iTraxx Crossover index , a barometer of
European credit market sentiment, has widened sharply throughout
Tuesday's trading session, and was 22 basis points wider by 1319
GMT at 268 basis points, according to prices from Deutsche Bank.




ABN AMRO, BNP Paribas, Citigroup and SG CIB are managing the
PKN Orlen bond sale.


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Citigroup, Foreign Banks Triple China Profit Growth Through Yuan Services

(Bloomberg) -- Profit growth at Citigroup Inc., ABN
Amro Holding NV and other foreign banks in China tripled this
year after they were allowed to offer local-currency services, a
central bank report said.

Overseas banks earned a combined 3.05 billion yuan ($401
million) in the first five months, up 43 percent from a year
earlier, the People's Bank of China said in a research report
published by China Securities Journal. Profit growth accelerated
from an average 14 percent over the past five years.


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REFILE-ING holding in ABN drops to 3.7 pct

(Reuters) - ING, along with UBS , are among the largest
shareholders in ABN, which is facing competing takeover
proposals from Barclays and a consortium led by Royal
Bank of Scotland .




Much of ING's holdings in ABN are shares that it holds on
behalf of clients, although ING legally owns the shares and can
vote with them.


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RBS not in talks with BofA, says H1 earnings ahead

(Reuters) - Britain's second biggest bank also said on Tuesday its consortium's proposed 71 billion euro takeover of ABN would result in about 19,000 job cuts, fewer than the 23,600 planned by Barclays under a rival offer.




Both estimates exclude LaSalle, which the RBS consortium wants as part of its proposed deal, but which ABN has agreed to sell to Bank of America .


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UPDATE 1-Barclays not considering large ABN asset sales-CEO

(Reuters) - "Barclays has not engaged in or is pursuing discussions
relating to major asset sales in connection with its recommended
merger with ABN AMRO," Chief Executive John Varley said in a
comment provided to Reuters.




ABN AMRO and Barclays, which agreed to merge last month but
are facing a potential rival bid, are considering the sale of
ABN's Brazilian unit to lift the price of the deal Dutch
newspaper Financieele Dagblad reported on Monday.


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