By DPA
Amsterdam : The banking consortium of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Fortis NV and Santander might be interested in taking over Dutch bank ABN Amro even if its US subsidiary LaSalle is not included in the deal, a report said Wednesday.
The British Financial Times quoted several anonymous sources "close to the consortium" as saying the consortium has already hinted to investors it considers making a new bid on ABN Amro, even if LaSalle is sold to Bank of America.
Tuesday Vino Timmerman, attorney general of the Hoge Raad, the Dutch Supreme Court, recommended the sale of LaSalle could go through without consultation of the ABN Amro shareholders.
In May an Amsterdam court had frozen the sale, advising consultation with the shareholders first.
Without LaSalle, ABN Amro is much less attractive for the banking consortium. RBS is particularly interested in the Dutch bank's US offshoot.
According to stock exchange regulations, the consortium cannot adjust the indicative offer it made in May but needs to withdraw the first offer and then present a new bid.
The Hoge Raad is expected to publish its decision on the sale of LaSalle by mid-July. Timmerman's recommendation Tuesday is not binding, but is accepted in eight out of ten cases.
The sale of LaSalle was part of an agreement between ABN Amro and British Barclays. The two banks had advanced merger plans, but Barclays demanded that LaSalle be sold first.