October 02, 2007	Tuesday	Ramazan 19, 1428

AMSTERDAM, Oct 1: Dutch bank ABN Amro, in the midst of a titanic takeover battle, said on Monday that it had finalised the sale of its US subsidiary LaSalle to Bank of America for $21 billion.

ABN Amro is at the centre of the biggest takeover battle in the banking industry after a three-bank consortium led by Royal Bank of Scotland sought to outgun an offer from British group Barclays earlier this year.

The sale of LaSalle was a key plank of the sale to Barclays, which was initially backed by the ABN Amro management.

The consortium, which also includes Belgian-Dutch Fortis and Spain’s Banco Santander, has offered 71 billion euros ($101bn), mainly in cash, while Barclays has bid about 60 billion euros, mainly in shares.

While Barclays wants to keep ABN Amro together, apart from LaSalle, the three-bank consortium wants to take the bank apart.

Barclays’ offer expires on Thursday, while that of the consortium runs until Friday.

Through the acquisition of LaSalle, Bank of America, the United States’ second-biggest bank, will strengthen its position, particularly in the Chicago region.

The US Federal Reserve Bank gave the green light to the deal on September 14.

Last week the consortium held eight per cent of ABN Amro’s capital, according to an article in The Financial Times.

—AFP