The Dutch Supreme Court is poised to reignite the takeover battle for ABN Amro as it delivers a ruling on whether a controversial side sale of the bank's coveted American arm LaSalle can go ahead without a shareholder vote, reports The Times.
**The Guardian goes one further this morning by reporting the Supreme Court has ruled the sale legal.** Bidders were on tenterhooks this morning ahead of a decision expected shortly after 9am GMT, when Hans Fleers, the Supreme Court judge, begins to read the ruling. Judge Fleers has been deliberating on whether to unfreeze the side sale of LaSalle to Bank of America. The division was sold to BoA for $21bn in late April, just ahead of an agreed merger deal between Barclays and ABN. Barclays pressed ahead with a €65bn all-share proposal to buy ABN Amro, subject to the sale being approved...
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