Judge Blocks Sale of LaSalle to Bank of America

http://www.insidearm.com/news/00019367-judge-blocks-sale-of-lasalle-to-bank-of-a/

There’s another hitch in the giddy-up of Barclay’s proposed $91 billion bid for ABN Amro. Part of the deal included selling LaSalle Bank to Bank of America. Now, a Dutch judge is ordering ABN Amro to halt that sale – and the ripple effect from this could stop Barclay’s bid as well.

A suit was filed by Dutch shareholder group VEB last weekend, and the judge, in giving his opinion, said that the sale of LaSalle would need to be voted on by its shareholders. ABN Amro had hoped to skip this step, and thought they were in their rights to do so, since LaSalle represented less than a third of ABN Amro’s assets. The judge disagreed.

Barclay’s bid for ABN Amro is contingent upon the sale of LaSalle to Bank of America. With that condition not met, it makes room for the Royal Bank of Scotland to renew efforts in its bid for ABN Amro.