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Banks Go Dutch on ABN Buy

Royal Bank of Scotland consortium expected to succeed with hostile bid

By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 14, 2007 5:33 AM CDT
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(Newser) – The race to buy Dutch bank ABN Amro is in the final stage—with a consortium led by the Royal Bank of Scotland apparently on the inside track ahead of  Barclays. The consortium has already won agreement from ABN and the Dutch government, but has yet to raise the $99 billion it needs for the purchase, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Barclays and the RBS consortium, which includes Dutch-Belgian bank Fortis and Spain's Banco Santander, have been vying for ABN Amro for more than six months. Barclays' last hope is that their rivals' financing will collapse, a possibility in the ongoing global credit crunch. "I guess they weren't thinking that this whole liquidity crisis would continue this long," said on analyst.
 

A Barclays Bank sign is seen outside a branch in Croydon, South London. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)
A Barclays Bank sign is seen outside a branch in Croydon, South London. (AP Photo/Sang Tan)   (Associated Press)
A Royal Bank of Scotland logo is seen outside the company's offices in central London. A consortium led by Royal Bank is expected to succeed with its hostile bid of euro71.1 billion (US$95.5 billion) for ABN Amro, topping a friendly offer from Barclays PLC. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
A Royal Bank of Scotland logo is seen outside the company's offices in central London. A consortium led by Royal Bank is expected to succeed with its hostile bid of euro71.1 billion (US$95.5 billion)...   (Associated Press)
Flags fly outside the ABN Amro head office in Amsterdam, Netherlands, (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Flags fly outside the ABN Amro head office in Amsterdam, Netherlands, (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)   (Associated Press)
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Breaking the Bank

Fortis makes concessions to ease ABN deal
Financial Times (UK)

Consortium odds-on to beat Barclays
Economist

Money • World

 
Bank of America • Barclays • ABN AMRO • Royal Bank of Scotland • Merrill Lynch • John Varley • Fortis NV • Banco Santander • Rijkman Groenink

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