UPDATE 1-Barclays launches $89 bln ABN takeover offer

(Reuters) - The offer period will run from Aug. 7 until Oct. 4,
Barclays said in an offer memorandum published in Dutch
newspapers on Monday.




At current share prices and foreign exchange rates, the
Barclays offer is worth about 34.54 euros per share of ABN.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Barclays' ABN offer period runs until Oct 4 - filing

(Reuters) - The RBS-led consortium's offer is worth 71 billion euros
and 93 percent in cash, while Barclays
65-billion-euros offer is about 38 percent in cash.




ABN shareholders can tender shares under the Barclays offer
from Aug. 7 until Oct. 4, Barclays said in a filing to U.S.
regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission late on Friday.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

ABN withdraws backing for Barclays bid, profit dips

(Reuters) - The Netherlands' biggest bank, which faces a 65.6 billion-euro offer from Barclays and a 71 billion-euro offer from the consortium of RBS, Belgium's Fortis and Spain's Santander , also reported a 7.1 percent decline in its second-quarter net profit on Monday.




ABN originally backed Barclays when announcing their merger deal in April.


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Barclays lifts ABN offer with China, Singapore help

(Reuters) - British bank Barclays has raised its bid for Dutch group ABN AMRO to 67.5 billion euros, helped by some of the biggest ever overseas investments by China and Singapore.

Barclays said on Monday its new bid was 42.7 billion euros in shares and 24.8 billion euros in cash, up from its previous all-stock offer of 65 billion euros but still below a rival 71 billion euro offer from a group of European banks led by Royal Bank of Scotland.


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U.K. Stocks Rebound, Paced by Prudential, Resolution; Barclays Advances

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks climbed, rebounding from
last week's decline, led by Friends Provident Plc after Resolution
Plc said its in ``advanced'' talks to merge with the insurer.

Prudential Plc and Legal & General Group Plc paced the gains
after UBS AG recommended investors buy the shares. Barclays Plc
rose after the bank increased its offer for ABN Amro Holding NV.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Barclays Raises ABN Offer to $93.4 Billion With China, Singapore Funding

(Bloomberg) -- Barclays Plc, vying to buy ABN Amro
Holding NV in the biggest banking takeover, raised its offer to
67.5 billion euros ($93.4 billion) after securing investments
from the governments of China and Singapore.

Barclays's revised bid is worth 35.73 euros a share and
includes 37 percent cash, the London-based company said today,
4.3 percent more than its previous offer. The bid remains lower
than the 38.40 euro-a-share offer made last week by a trio of
banks led by Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Absa sees H1 headline EPS up 22-27 pct

(Reuters) - South Africa's biggest retail lender Absa expected first-half headline earnings per share to rise by as much as 27 percent, the group said on Monday.

Absa, majority owned by Britain's Barclays Plc, said in a trading statement that headline EPS and earnings per share for the six months to end June will rise between 22-27 percent.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Barclays may have lost big in Bear fund: report

(Reuters) - Bear Stearns said on Tuesday that assets in the fund are at this point essentially worthless.




The Journal said Barclays was reviewing its options for recovering the $400 million, citing arbitration, a negotiated settlement or litigation as possible strategies.


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ABN works councils support merger with Barclays

(Reuters) - In many Dutch merger deals, employers are considered
stakeholders with a say in the process.




ABN said it welcomed the backing its Dutch and European
works councils, adding that it had earlier reached an agreement
with trade unions about the planned deal with Barclays.


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AmeriCredit prices $1.5 bln in asset-backeds

(Reuters) - Lead managers on the transaction are Barclays Capital,
Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank Securities. The co-managers are
JPMorgan, Lehman Brothers, RBS Greenwich Capital and UBS
Investment Bank.




Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Rosneft Cancels Sale of Dollar-Denominated Bonds, Bankers Organizing Say

(Bloomberg) -- OAO Rosneft, Russia's biggest oil
producer, canceled its plan to sell dollar-denominated bonds,
according to bankers organizing the offering who asked not to be
identified because the decision hasn't been publicly disclosed.

Moscow-based Rosneft had hired ABN Amro Holding NV,
Barclays Capital, Citigroup Inc. and Morgan Stanley to arrange
the sale, according to an e-mailed statement sent by Morgan
Stanley on July 4. BNP Paribas SA, Calyon, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. were also organizing the sale.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

OMV could offer over $166/share for MOL: sources

(Reuters) - OMV has negotiated a 13.5 billion euro loan for the takeover as it seeks to convince its Hungarian rival to enter merger talks, the sources added on Wednesday.




OMV has loosely agreed loan terms with banks including J.P. Morgan and Barclays but has yet to sign any deal formally, the sources said, adding that there remain "many significant hurdles" to any offer being made and the loan may not be required.


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Dutch court to rule on ABN's LaSalle

(Reuters) - The court is considering whether to unfreeze the suspended sale of LaSalle Bank to Bank of America for $21 billion. The smaller bank's fate could tip the balance in a deal potentially worth nearly $100 billion which would be the biggest-ever bank takeover.




Britain's Barclays , which has offered to buy ABN for nearly 63 billion euros , is up against a consortium of three banks led by Royal Bank of Scotland which says it is willing to pay 71 billion euros .


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Currency Volatility Increases on Demand for Insurance Against Rally in Yen

(Bloomberg) -- Volatility on major currencies may
extend a rebound from an all-time low because investors are
buying protection against a rally in the yen.

Traders are holding record futures bets that Japan's
currency will weaken versus the dollar, which raises the risk
that they will exit so-called carry trades that profit from yen
declines, said David Woo at Barclays Capital Inc. Concern about
losses in the riskiest segment of the U.S. mortgage market may
make investors more risk-averse, sparking a reversal of carry
trades and bigger currency swings.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

CORRECTED - Dutch VEB to continue to prevent ABN's LaSalle sale

(Reuters) - A Dutch commercial court froze the $21 billion sale of
Chicago-based LaSalle to Bank of America in May, a side
deal to ABN's agreement to be bought by Britain's Barclays
, as the deal required shareholder approval.




VEB's chairman Peter Paul de Vries said chances had
increased that LaSalle would be sold to Bank of America after a
Supreme Court adviser said the deal does not need shareholder
approval, but he added: "We will use all legal means to prevent
the ABN trick."


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No vote needed for ABN's LaSalle sale -court advise

(Reuters) - A Dutch commercial court froze the $21 billion sale of
Chicago-based LaSalle to Bank of America in May, a side
deal to ABN's agreement to be bought by Britain's Barclays
, but ABN and others appealed the court's decision.




"The Advocate General advises the Supreme Court to quash the
Commercial Court's ruling," Timmerman said in a statement,
adding that the LaSalle transaction does not need approval of
shareholders based on article 2:8 of the Dutch civil code.


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US CREDIT-Sallie Mae spreads widen, may weaken further

(Reuters) - Sallie Mae, officially known as SLM Corp., on April 16
accepted a $25 billion takeover bid from two private equity
funds, J.C. Flowers & Co. and Friedman Fleischer & Lowe, and
JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. .
For details, see [ID:nN16348651]




"Hedge funds taking short positions have been pushing CDS
spreads wider. We have seen only limited selling in cash
bonds," said Vincent Breitenbach, head of credit research for
the Americas at Barclays Capital in New York. "Short-sellers
will continue to lean on the spreads until they meet some
buying resistance."


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Barclays Capital Gains Approval for Tokyo Commodity Exchange Membership

(Bloomberg) -- Barclays Capital, a unit of
Britain's third-biggest bank, won approval to become a member of
the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, as rising raw materials prices
drive investor interest in commodities.

Tocom, Japan's largest commodities futures exchange,
approved the application at a board meeting held in Tokyo today,
the exchange said in a statement released to reporters.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

European Stocks May Rise; Daimler, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto May Advance

(Bloomberg) -- European stocks may advance for a
second day, led by exporters and mining companies, after the
Federal Reserve said the world's largest economy is growing without
spurring inflation and copper prices gained in Asia.

DaimlerChysler AG and Barclays Plc will probably advance
after their U.S.-traded securities ended higher than the close in
Europe. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's biggest mining company,
and Rio Tinto Group gained in Australia.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Hedge funds' hopes rise for China opening

(Reuters) - Chinese officials remain suspicious of overseas hedge funds, after witnessing the turmoil partly blamed on the likes of financier George Soros' Quantum Fund during the 1997/98 Asian financial crisis.




Unlike foreign banks, mutual funds and brokerages, hedge funds are excluded from forming fund management ventures in China, which Barclays Capital predicts will offer the highest growth potential of any asset management market in Asia over the next two years.


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