ABN Amro Neutral on Takeover Bids

ABN Amro has reportedly decided not to take a stance on competing takeover bids.

Citing people familiar with the situation, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that the company's supervisory board will take a neutral position on the bids from Barclays(BCS Quote) and a rival consortium of banks led by Royal Bank of Scotland.

An announcement on the decision is expected Monday, when ABN is scheduled to report second-quarter earnings.

The Journal report said the situation was still in flux and could change.

If ABN announces it is neutral on the bids, its shareholders will make the decision on which to accept.

Both Barclays and the consortium of RBS, Fortis and Banco Santander have recently revised their offers for the Dutch bank.

Last week, Barclays announced an improved $93 billion bid for ABN, offering $59 billion in shares and $34 billion in cash. It said it would pay 35.73 euros, or $49.32, for each ABN share. Originally, Barclays proposed an all-stock acquisition.

Barclays' revised offer remained below the bid of 38.40 euros, or $53.02 a share, from the RBS consortium. Two weeks ago, the consortium sweetened its bid, saying ABN shareholders could get 93% of the deal's value in cash, up from 70%.

There are too many uncertainties about the consortium's bid, however, for it to win the recommendation of ABN's board, the Journal report said, citing people familiar with the situation. One unknown is whether Fortis shareholders will approve the bid and the related capital-raising Fortis would need to do.

Spokespeople for ABN, Barclays and the consortium either declined comment or weren't available for comment, the Journal said.

ABN shares lost $1.57 Friday to close at $47.31. Barclays shares fell $1.13 to close at $54.93.