BizJournals Portfolio
Home >   Business Views, Opinions and Blogs >   Business Blogs >   Market Movers >  

Rbs Goes Hostile

Market Movers

by Yves Smith and Felix Salmon
Main
Macro News Doesn't Always Move Markets   The End of Balanced Budgets

Recent Blog Posts

Links

Apr 27 2007 12:00am EDT

RBS Goes Hostile

It was inevitable, really. Fred Goodwin's RBS has now announced that it is going to make a hostile takeover bid for ABN Amro, in concert with its partners Fortis and Santander. ABN was clearly never negotiating in good faith with Goodwin's group, so now he's going straight to the shareholders, 68% of whom, at ABN's annual meeting, voted in favor of a motion implicitly siding with the Scots.

Off the top of my head, I can't think of any other banker who's ever made a major hostile takeover bid: Goodwin does seem to be made of stern stuff. The battle lines are now drawn: Goodwin and ABN's shareholders, on the one hand, versus ABN CEO Rijkman Groenink and Barclays CEO John Varley, on the other. Where ABN's unions and the Dutch central bank come down is likely to be crucial.

. □

blog comments powered by Disqus
Real Business, Real Results
Out of the 'Family'

Did anyone at Microsoft ever watch the (gasp!) offensively funny show Family Guy?

Cruz Missile Lands

Ex-Morgan Stanley exec Zoe Cruz is now heading her own hedge fund. Are Wall Street's leaders done?

Scandal Chic

Martha, Bernie and Skilling know that what you wear for court can go a long way in public perception.

spotlight on

Health Care

Bad to the Bone No More

Companies such as General Mills say they're stepping up efforts to change employees' bad behavior and promote healthier lifestyles. Read More