A group of banks that is seeking a hostile takeover of ABN Amro is considering pressing ahead with its bid despite a lawsuit by Bank of America that could block them, according to documents.
Documents published today include letters from the Royal Bank of Scotland- led consortium to ABN Amro outlining details of its proposed offer and correspondence between lawyers for the two sides.
RBS and its consortium partners tried to outbid a friendly offer for ABN Amro from Barclays with a bid worth about €69.9 billion ($94.7 billion).
As a condition of its deal with Barclays, ABN Amro agreed to sell its US arm, Chicago-based LaSalle Bank, to Bank of America for $21 billion, a decision that has become central to the wider takeover fight, the largest in the history of the financial industry.
A Dutch court ordered the sale frozen, saying ABN's management should have submitted it to shareholders for approval.
The RBS consortium's proposed offer was conditional on the LaSalle deal being cancelled, which is likely if ABN shareholders get their way: The RBS bid is at least 10 per cent higher than the Barclays offer, and Barclays has said it won't raise its bid.
However, Bank of America has filed suit in the New York Federal District Court to ensure that its purchase of LaSalle goes through, saying its purchase contract signed with ABN's management is enforceable regardless of ABN shareholder wishes or the Dutch court's ruling.
AP