A Royal Bank of Scotland-led consortium seeking to win a bid battle for ABN Amro has built up a 3.25 percent stake in the Dutch bank and may buy more, Reuters reports.
With ABN shares trading around 9 percent below the consortium’s offer, the purchase will reduce the overall cost of buying ABN.
Regulations could limit the consortium’s stake to 5 percent, but that limit may apply to each bank and regulatory clarity was being sought, sources said.
“They are obviously looking to marginally bring down the overall cost of the transaction, it’s entirely sensible,” says Alex Potter, analyst at Collins Stewart.