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ABN leans toward dropping support for Barclays

AMSTERDAM
Sat Jul 28, 2007 9:59am EDT

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The head office of ABN AMRO bank is seen in Amsterdam May 29, 2007. ABN AMRO NV <AAH.AS><ABN.N> is leaning towards dropping its support for Barclays' 69 billion euro ($92.4 billion) takeover offer, Dutch daily Het Financieele Dagblad reported on Saturday. REUTERS/Koen van Weel

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch bank ABN AMRO NV AAH.ASABN.N is leaning towards dropping its support for Barclays' 69 billion euro ($92.4 billion) takeover offer, Dutch daily Het Financieele Dagblad reported on Saturday.

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Citing sources close to the company, the paper said the difference to the 72 billion euro offer by a consortium of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L), Fortis (FOR.BR) and Santander (SAN.MC) had become too big.

ABN AMRO declined comment.

The bank is expected to deliver a statement on the bids on Monday morning alongside its quarterly results, based on discussions at meetings of its supervisory and management boards on Friday.

ABN could choose to recommend the Barclays bid, which it initially endorsed in April, or it could switch its recommendation to the consortium's offer, which has accused ABN's management of resisting its overtures.

Thirdly, ABN could withhold a recommendation, as the matter will be resolved in any case by shareholders tendering their shares to one or the other bidder.

China Development Bank (CDB) and Singapore state investor Temasek bought stakes in Barclays on Monday to help the British bank raise its offer for ABN.
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