ABN chief expects LaSalle decision by early July

THE HAGUE (AFP) - The chairman of ABN Amro, at the centre of possibly the biggest takeover battle in banking history expects a supreme court decision about the sale of US subsidiary LaSalle to fall late June, early July, the ANP news agency reported Wednesday.
The sale of LaSalle is a pivotal element in the take over battle for ABN Amro which pits British bank Barclays against a European consortium of three banks led by Royal Bank of Scotland.
Late May the consortium bid 71.14 billion euros (95.64 billion dollars) mostly in cash for the Dutch bank, outgunning Barclays' agreed all-shares bid of 67 billion euros.
As part of the Barclays takeover, ABN management had agreed to the sale of the US subsidiary in a deal viewed by analysts as a "poison pill" to prevent rival bidders. The consortium has said their offer is conditional on LaSalle not being sold.
A Dutch court froze the sale of LaSalle until ABN shareholders could vote on the matter. ABN Amro has appealed that decision and now says the supreme court could rule on the matter late June, early July, ANP reported, quoting from an interview Groenink gave to ABN Amro's intranet news service.