ABN Gets OK to Sell LaSalle Separately

ABN Amro was given permission Friday to sell its U.S. bank, LaSalle of Chicago, to Bank of America without shareholder approval.

The ruling by the Dutch Supreme Court in Amsterdam, which overturned a lower court decision, apparently ended a 10-week legal battle over the sale of ABN, one of Europe’s biggest banks. Proceedings had been held up over the LaSalle disposition.

And it likely set the stage for a head-on bidding war for control of ABN, the Financial Times said.

The ruling clears the way for ABN to complete the LaSalle sale separately from its own sale and also allows Barclays, the British bank which agreed on an all-share takeover of the Dutch bank without LaSalle, to formally launch its bid.

It also represented a setback for the rival consortium, led by the Royal Bank of Scotland, which wanted the whole package, including LaSalle.