Bank takeover boost for Barclays

Barclays was given a fillip today in its fight to fend off a counterbid for ABN Amro when a senior Dutch legal officer said the sale of American bank LaSalle did not need to go to shareholder vote.

The verdict from advocate general Vino Timmerman comes ahead of a decision by the Dutch Supreme Court on whether to uphold an earlier ruling requiring shareholder approval for the £10.5bn (€15.6bn) LaSalle sale to Bank of America.

While it is not a judgment, it is the main and only advisory opinion that will be taken into account by the court.

A decision not to put the LaSalle deal to shareholders for their vote would strike a serious blow for rival ABN suitors, led by Royal Bank of Scotland.

The RBS consortium’s higher £48.2bn (€71.6bn) takeover offer for ABN is dependent on the LaSalle sale being reversed.