Barclays' ABN AMRO Deal Has Company: Is Three a Crowd or a Winner?

April 16, 2007

Barclays (BCS) is engaged in exclusive talks with ABN AMRO (ABN) that could yield the largest ever financial institutions M & A deal. A combination would make the combined firm a bigger global player both geographically and by product line coverage. The burr under ABN AMRO's saddle to sell out is shareholder impatience over below par operating results and weak gains in its share price. The clock of exclusivity for Barclays negotiations to submit a bid to ABN AMRO continues to tick, and expires on April 17th. Other suitors, such as Royal Bank of Scotland, have now jumped into the bidding arena. Either way, ABN AMRO will find it hard to remove the seller's tag.

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