ABN CEO: Barclays bid beneficial, but cannot recommend

(Reuters) - "We continue to support Barclays' offer because we feel
overall Barclays' merger plan is to the benefit of all
stakeholders," Chief Executive Rijkman Groenink told reporters,
but said that ABN has taken a neutral stance on the competing
bids.




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CEVA revises $1.4 bln high-yield note sale -lead

(Reuters) - All of the notes are available in euros and dollars. Price
guidance is due later on Thursday, with pricing expected early
next week, the bank said.




Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bear Stearns,
UBS, JP Morgan and ABN AMRO are managing the sale.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Infosys may announce European buy on Wednesday-TV

(Reuters) - A spokeswoman for Nasdaq-listed Infosys declined
comment.




Local media had earlier reported that Infosys, whose
customers include ABN AMRO , Goldman Sachs and
Airbus , was close to acquiring the finance and
accounting back-office services arm of Dutch consumer
electronics group Philips .


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Turkish Stocks, Lira Gain on View Erdogan to Extend 21 Quarters of Growth

(Bloomberg) -- Turkish stocks, bonds and the lira
gained after voters re-elected Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, giving him a mandate to extend policies that won European
Union membership talks and helped bring 21 quarters of growth.

The ISE National 100 Index rose 3.8 percent to 54,966.6 as of
9:56 a.m. The lira rose 1.58 percent, trading at 1.253 to the
dollar. Yields on lira-denominated bonds fell 27 basis points to
17.19 percent, their lowest in 13 months, according to ABN Amro
benchmark prices. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

European Stocks Rise on Mergers; ABN Amro, Friends Provident, TomTom Gain

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks advanced after Barclays
Plc raised its offer for ABN Amro Holding NV to 67.5 billion euros
($93.4 billion) and Friends Provident Plc held talks with
Resolution Plc.

TomTom NV, the world's largest maker of car navigation devices,
gained after saying it intends to buy Tele Atlas NV. Autonomy Corp.
rose after the company that sells database search software said
profit almost doubled.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

RBS-led group launches 71 bln euro ABN takeover

(Reuters) - A consortium led by Royal Bank of Scotland said on Friday it had formally launched its 71.1 billion euro bid for Dutch bank ABN AMRO as it attempts to beat rival suitor Barclays to the biggest ever bank takeover.

The consortium, which also includes Spain's Santander and Belgian-Dutch group Fortis, said the initial offer period would run from July 23 until October 5.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Barclays Wins Round in ABN Amro Bid as Dutch Court Clears Sale of LaSalle

(Bloomberg) -- Barclays Plc moved a step closer to
buying ABN Amro Holding NV for 63.2 billion euros ($87.1 billion)
after a court cleared the Dutch company's sale of LaSalle Bank.

The Dutch Supreme Court today said there were ``no grounds''
to block the sale, overturning a lower court ruling that said ABN
Amro should have asked shareholders to approve its $21 billion
disposal of Chicago-based LaSalle to Bank of America Corp. The
decision removes an obstacle to Barclays's agreement to buy the
rest of Amsterdam-based ABN Amro in the biggest banking takeover.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-RBS-led consortium gets ABN offer extension

(Reuters) - British bank Barclays, which was also granted an extension
by Dutch market regulator AFM to file its formal offer until
July 23, is seeking to buy ABN for 62.8 billion euros .




RBS and its partners -- Spain's Santander and
Belgian-Dutch Fortis -- have offered to buy Dutch rival
ABN for 71.2 billion euros.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Court advice boosts Barclays ABN takeover hopes

(Reuters) - By Gilbert Kreijger and Steve Slater



AMSTERDAM/LONDON, June 26 - British bank Barclays's hopes of taking over Dutch rival ABN AMRO won a boost on Tuesday when a court adviser said ABN could sell its U.S. arm without a shareholder vote.


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UPDATE 1-Atticus repeats call for Barclays to scrap ABN bid

(Reuters) - "During this discussion we reiterated our view that while
management is running the company well, the proposed
acquisition of ABN is not in the best interests of the company
or its shareholders," a spokesman for Atticus said.




Atticus has built a stake in Barclays -- which reports have
said is worth more than $1 billion -- and earlier this month
urged management to pull out of the deal.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Sabic Agrees $9 Billion Borrowing With Four Banks to Pay For GE Plastics

(Bloomberg) -- Saudi Basic Industries Corp., the
world's biggest chemical maker by market value, agreed on a $9
billion borrowing plan with a group of four lenders to help fund
its acquisition of General Electric Co.'s plastics unit.

Citigroup Inc., HSBC Holdings Plc, ABN Amro Holding NV and
GE Capital will underwrite Saudi Basic's loans and bonds, Mutlaq
al-Morished, the Riyadh-based company's chief financial officer,
said in a phone interview today. JPMorgan Chase & Co. may also
join the group, he said.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

European Investment Bank to Begin Romanian Bond Sale, Seeking $61 Million

(Bloomberg) -- The European Investment Bank, the lending arm of the European Union, will start selling 150 million lei ($61 million) of seven-year bonds this month, its first debt sale in the Romanian currency.

The subscription period for the bond sale, which will be managed by ABN Amro Bank Romania SA, will begin April 26 and end May 4, the EIB said in an e-mailed statement today. It said the sale could be doubled to 300 million lei.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News