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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Barclays Kenya's pretax profit rises 17 pct

(Reuters) - Barclays Bank Kenya reported a 17 percent rise in pretax profits on Friday to 3.547 billion shillings for the first half of 2007 as new branches led to growth in its assets.

"This is a very good result ... mainly driven by a strong asset growth and a significantly improved credit risk profile," Charles Ongwae, the bank's director of finance and planning told an investor briefing.


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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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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.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

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.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

UPDATE 1-Barclays gets nod to buy stake in China trust firm

(Reuters) - SHANGHAI/BEIJING, July 23 - Barclays has
won regulatory approval to buy into a Chinese trust company,
securing a foothold in the country's fast-growing asset
management sector, two sources familiar with the situation said
on Monday.




London-based Barclays Bank Plc will be allowed to buy a
nearly 20 percent stake in New China Trust & Investment Co., one
of the country's oldest trust firms, after negotiations for more
than one year between the two companies, the sources said.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

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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European shares open mixed with M&A in focus

(Reuters) - European shares got off to a mixed start on Monday as merger activity lent some support while investors still worried that problems in the U.S. housing market could spread to the broader economy.

M&A activity came to the fore again after Britain's Barclays


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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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Barclays may have lost big in Bear fund: report

(Reuters) - Bear Stearns said on Tuesday that assets in the fund are at this point essentially worthless.




The Journal said Barclays was reviewing its options for recovering the $400 million, citing arbitration, a negotiated settlement or litigation as possible strategies.


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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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Vietnam Hires Barclays, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank for $1 Billion Bond Sale

(Bloomberg) -- Vietnam chose Barclays Capital,
Citigroup Inc. and Deutsche Bank AG to manage its second
international bond sale, said Nguyen Thanh Do, director of the
finance ministry's external financing department.

The ministry said in May that the government plans a $1
billion bond sale by September. Vietnam sold $750 million worth
of dollar-denominated debt in 2005, in an offering where demand
exceeded supply by six times. Credit Suisse Group arranged the
sale.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Pound Versus Dollar Volatility to Increase on Rate Outlook, Barclays Says

(Bloomberg) -- Swings in the pound-dollar exchange
rate will rise because U.S. economic growth will prove resilient
while that in the U.K. will wane under the weight this year's
interest rate increases, according to Barclays Capital Inc.

``The market is likely to be proved wrong on both U.K. and
U.S. interest rates,'' said Paul Robinson, senior sterling
strategist in London at Barclays Capital, the third-biggest U.K.
bank. ``We expect foreign exchange volatility to increase.''


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

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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OMV could bid more than $166/shr for MOL-sources

(Reuters) - OMV has loosely agreed terms on the loan with banks
including J.P. Morgan and Barclays but has yet to sign any deal
formally, the sources said, adding that there remain "many
significant hurdles" to any offer being made and the loan may
not be required.




The Austrian company has no plans to go hostile against MOL
and is trying to win over the board as it tries to create a
central European energy giant.


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