China, Singapore join Barclays' takeover bid for ABN Amro

LONDON (AFP) - The mammoth European battle for ABN Amro stretched to Asia yesterday, as Britain's Barclays won financial firepower from China and Singapore to strengthen its takeover bid for the Dutch bank.

Barclays, the third-biggest British bank, said it had sweetened its offer by including a cash element as part of a revised informal bid worth about 67.5 billion euros (93.3 billion dollars) for ABN Amro.

Its previous proposal had been an all-shares bid worth about 65 billion euros.

The deal marked China's biggest-ever overseas investment, according to Barclays, and came as Beijing seeks to ramp up returns from its estimated 1.22 trillion dollars in foreign exchange reserves.

Barclays is hoping the two Asian giants -- China and Singapore -- will help it outgun a rival bid from a three-member European consortium led by the Royal Bank of Scotland.

The consortium, which also comprises the Dutch-Belgian group Fortis and Banco Santander of Spain, has formally offered 71.1 billion euros for ABN Amro.

Either takeover would represent the world's largest acquisition in the banking sector. On Monday, ABN Amro said it "welcomed" news of a revised bid from Barclays.

Barclays said it had agreed to sell new shares worth up to 9.8 billion euros to China Development Bank, which would make the Asian group the bank's biggest shareholder.

Singapore's state-linked investment firm Temasek Holdings, meanwhile, will take a stake of up to 3.6 billion euros.

Barclays chief executive John Varley said he was unfazed at the prospect of the Chinese government becoming the bank's dominant investor.

"I am comfortable ... it's by far the biggest external investment ever made by China, and it's very good for Barclays," he said in a conference call with reporters.

He added that the deal would give the British bank "unprecedented" access to the Chinese market.

"I think it will be regarded as a very significant event," Varley said.

In London, Barclays shares finished at 735 pence, up 3.01 percent. Also on the FTSE 100 index of leading companies, RBS gained 0.90 percent to end at 615.50 pence.

ABN Amro won 0.74 percent to close at 36.90 euros in Amsterdam.

Barclays said yesterday that the Asian deal enabled the bank to increase its offer for ABN Amro to 67.5 billion euros, including a cash element worth 24.8 billion euros.

"ABN Amro confirms that it has received a proposal for a revised offer from Barclays and notes that the consortium of Fortis, RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland) and Santander has formally launched its offer for ABN Amro," the Dutch group said yesterday.