The High Court will today rule whether ABN Amro bank can sell its LaSalle subsidiary to Bank of America without asking for shareholder approval. The outcome is critical for the outcome of the takeover battle for the Dutch banking group.

Earlier, the company court ruled that the $21bn saleof LaSalle had to be put to shareholders and froze the deal. However, last month the High Court’s advocate general indicated that the lower court ruling should be overturned. His advice is usually followed by the appeal court.
ABN Amro wants to sell LaSalle and then merge with UK’s Barclays. However, a rival consortium wants to take over the entire ABN Amro group, including LaSalle. It argues the sale was a poison pill to thwart its takeover efforts.
The Barclays takeover is an all-share deal, valuing ABN Amro at around €64bn. The consortium offer is a cash-share deal, which values ABN Amro at some €71bn.
If the court rules that the LaSalle sale can go ahead, the consortium (Royal Bank of Schotland, Spain’s Santander and Belgian Fortis) is likely to revise its offer, analysts say.