Barclays is considering filing its existing offer for ABN Amro on Monday but sweetening it with more cash later, a tactic that could lead to weeks of tension between the Dutch bank and its shareholders, The Financial Times reports.
The Barclays bid, which values ABN at €64 billion, is competing with a revised €71.1 billion bid from a consortium led by Royal Bank of Scotland and including the Belgo-Dutch bank Fortis and Santander of Spain.
Barclays has made clear it does not need to rush to improve its offer, which it may either sweeten with more cash, or even leave as it stands.
“Do we feel some great need to change the structure? No. Do we have the flexibility to make changes? Yes we do,” says John Varley, Barclays chief executive. “But the point we are making is that the shareholders will make their judgment in a couple of months.”
Dutch takeover rules allow Barclays to mail its current offer to ABN shareholders on July 23 and give it the flexibility to then sweeten its offer at any point. Under Dutch law, a tender offer is open for 10 weeks and can be extended for another 10 weeks.
The RBS-led consortium still faces several hurdles, including gaining approval from the Dutch financial regulator.