UPDATE 1-Fortis seeks shareholder approval for ABN buy

(Reuters) - BRUSSELS, Aug 6 - Belgian-Dutch financial services
group Fortis sought shareholder approval on Monday for
its part of a three-bank bid to buy ABN AMRO , a crucial
vote for the biggest ever bank takeover.




Fortis , Royal Bank of Scotland and Spain's
Santander have offered 71 billion euros
for the Netherlands' largest bank in a bidding war that has
featured legal and stakeholder battles.


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Barclays launches $89 bln ABN takeover offer

(Reuters) - The offer period will run from August 7 until October 4,
Barclays said in an offer memorandum published in Dutch
newspapers on Monday.




At current share prices and foreign exchange rates, the
Barclays offer is worth about 34.54 euros per share of ABN.


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Fortis seen clearing shareholder hurdle over ABN

(Reuters) - If it does not garner enough support it could spell the end not only to Fortis's ambitions of expanding in the Benelux but also the joint 71 billion euro bid of its consortium partners Royal Bank of Scotland and Spain's Santander .




Fortis will ask shareholders, who have seen their stock drop by almost 18 percent since it confirmed its approach for ABN in April, to back the planned takeover in general and its financing through Europe's second largest rights issue.


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ABN withdraws backing for Barclays bid, profit dips

(Reuters) - The Netherlands' biggest bank, the target of a 66 billion-euro offer from Barclays and a 71 billion-euro bid from RBS, Belgium's Fortis and Spain's Santander , also reported a 7.1 percent decline in its second-quarter net profit on Monday.




ABN originally backed Barclays when announcing their merger deal in April but withdrew its recommendation even after Barclays sweetened its offer last week to include more cash.


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Groebli of ABN Says Asia Equity Selloff a `Summer Storm' Not `Tempest'

(Bloomberg) -- Roger Groebli, head of equity research in private
banking Asia at ABN Amro Bank, talks with Bloomberg's Bernard Lo from
Singapore about the outlook for Asian stocks following last week's selloff,
the impact of a slowdown in the U.S. on Asian economies and his investment
strategy. (Source: Bloomberg)

00:00 Selloff: "a summer storm, but not a tempest"
01:59 Funding private equity, Asia sovereign funds
04:02 Outlook for collateralized debt obligations
06:41 Impact of U.S. problems on Asian economies
08:40 View of Japan, banking, oil, property stocks

Running time 10:53


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ABN withdraws backing for Barclays bid

(Reuters) - ABN said it was currently not in the position to recommend the offers from Barclays or the RBS-led consortium, which also includes Belgian-Dutch Fortis and Spain's Santander.




ABN had a net profit of 1.13 billion euros in the second quarter, compared with 1.216 billion euros a year earlier and the 1 billion euros average forecast in a Reuters survey of five analysts.


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U.K. FTSE 100 Index Increases, Led by Friends Provident on Merger Talks

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks rallied, led by Friends
Provident Plc after Resolution Plc said it is in ``advanced''
merger talks with the insurer. Prudential Plc and Legal & General
Group Plc rose after UBS AG recommended investors buy the shares.

Antofagasta Plc and Anglo American Plc paced gains in mining
companies. Barclays Plc rose after the bank increased its offer
for ABN Amro Holding NV.


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European Stocks Advance; Depfa, Friends Provident, Barclays Climb

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks rose after Hypo Real
Estate Holding AG agreed to buy Depfa Bank Plc for 5.7 billion
euros ($7.9 billion) and merger talks between two U.K. insurers
revived speculation that takeovers in the region will continue.

Depfa soared 13 percent. Friends Provident Plc jumped the most
in more than two months and Resolution Plc headed for its biggest
gain since March after the companies said they are in talks for a
merger that would create the U.K.'s fifth-biggest insurer. Barclays
Plc climbed after it increased its bid for ABN Amro Holding NV.


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U.K. Stocks Rebound, Paced by Prudential, Resolution; Barclays Advances

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks climbed, rebounding from
last week's decline, led by Friends Provident Plc after Resolution
Plc said its in ``advanced'' talks to merge with the insurer.

Prudential Plc and Legal & General Group Plc paced the gains
after UBS AG recommended investors buy the shares. Barclays Plc
rose after the bank increased its offer for ABN Amro Holding NV.


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Turkish Stocks, Bonds, Lira Rise After Erdogan's Justice Party Re-elected

(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.


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Report says Barclays seeks billions for ABN

(Reuters) - The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, said Barclays was close to an agreement to sell what it described as a large stake to Temasek and another investor to help back its bid for ABN.




The newspaper said on its www.wsj.com website that while the size of Temasek's potential stake in Barclays was not clear, a Barclays stake of 5 percent to 10 percent would be worth about $4.8 billion to $9.6 billion, based on Barclays's market value.


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Barclays seeks China, Singapore state funds in ABN buy -BBC

(Reuters) - Barclays said last week that it may add cash to sweeten its
agreed 65 billion euro offer for ABN as it
battles against a higher bid from a rival consortium led by
Royal Bank of Scotland and that also includes
Belgian-Dutch group Fortis and Spain's Santander
.




The BBC that said the two Asian governments would pay
around 740 pence for each Barclays share, 3.7 percent above
Friday's closing price of 713.5 pence.


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U.S. activist fund builds stake in UBS: paper

(Reuters) - Speculation of a possible break-up at UBS has escalated in recent months following a proposed three-way carve-up of ABN AMRO by a group led by Royal Bank of Scotland .




The Sunday Times report said Chicago-based Harris Associates had built a stake representing about 1 percent of UBS over the past three months.


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ABN CEO says merger with Barclays is better: report

(Reuters) - "I am still convinced a merger with Barclays is the best. It is better in terms of the content but as for the amount, it is not good enough," Groenink said in an interview.




ABN's boards have recommended Barclays' all-share offer currently worth about 35 euros per ABN share.


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European Bank Stocks Advance, Led By ABN Amro; Saipem, Technip Decline

(Bloomberg) -- European bank stocks rose, led by ABN
Amro Holding NV after Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc sweetened
its 71.1 billion-euro ($98.1 billion) offer for the Dutch lender.

ABN Amro jumped the most in three months. Oil-services
companies paced declines in energy shares after UBS AG cut its
recommendations on Saipem SpA and Technip SA following their
``strong performance.'' BT Group Plc, the U.K.'s largest phone
company, and drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline Plc climbed after
brokerages lifted their recommendations on the shares.


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European Bank Stocks Advance, Paed by ABN Amro; Saipem, Technip Decline

(Bloomberg) -- European bank stocks rose, led by ABN
Amro Holding NV after Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc sweetened
its 71.1 billion-euro ($98.1 billion) offer for the Dutch lender.

ABN Amro jumped the most in three months. Oil-services
companies paced declines in energy shares after UBS AG cut its
recommendations on Saipem SpA and Technip SA following their
``strong performance.'' BT Group Plc, the U.K.'s largest phone
company, and drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline Plc advanced after
brokerages lifted their recommendations on the shares.


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U.K.'s FTSE 100 Is Little Changed; Barclays, Glaxo, BT Climb, Lonmin Drops

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks including Barclays Plc
rose after Royal Bank of Scotland Plc sweetened its 71.1 billion
euro ($98.1 billion) offer for ABN Amro Holding NV.

Lonmin Plc limited gains after the mining company said it
will delay the sale of as much as 90,000 ounces of platinum.
Wolseley Plc slid after the company said pretax profit fell.


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RBS-led group offers more cash in $98 bln ABN bid

(Reuters) - The offer is above a rival all-stock bid from Britain's Barclays that is worth about 64 billion euros, which has been recommended by ABN's board.




The revised bid pushed ABN shares higher, with the price up 3.5 percent at 37.12 euros by 0726 GMT.


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European Stocks Advance, Led by ABN Amro, Barclays, BT Group, Glaxo

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks rose for a third day,
led by ABN Amro Holding NV after Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc
sweetened its 71.1 billion-euro ($98.1 billion) offer for the
Dutch lender, seeking to trump Barclays Plc.

ABN Amro jumped the most in three months. Barclays also
climbed. BT Group Plc, the U.K.'s largest phone company, and
drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline Plc rose after brokerages lifted their
recommendations on the shares.


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RBS group to offer 90 percent cash for ABN bid: reports

(Reuters) - While the cash portion is higher, the consortium is unlikely to boost the bid above the 71 billion it has offered for the company, the reports said.




Barclays has agreed an all-share offer for ABN worth about 64 billion euros . The RBS-led consortium trumped that with its bid but only on the condition that LaSalle remained part of the bank. ABN agreed to sell LaSalle to Bank of America for $21 billion, a deal the consortium moved to block. RBS sought LaSalle to bolster U.S. operations.


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