14th Aug 2007 07:01
Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC14 August 2007 13 August 2007 - Fortis, RBS and Santander Announcement Fortis, RBS and Santander (the "Banks") announce that their aggregateshareholding in ABN AMRO has been increased to 3.25% of voting rights throughmarket purchases on Friday 10 August and Monday 13 August of a total of 40.76million ABN AMRO ordinary shares at an average price of €33.81. The Banks may make further purchases of ABN AMRO shares within the limits ofqualifying interest criteria determined by regulators. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Important Information This announcement is made pursuant to article 9b(1) of the Dutch Decree on theSupervision of the Securities Trade 1995. In connection with the offer for ABN AMRO, RBS has filed with the U.S.Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") a Registration Statement on FormF-4, which includes a preliminary version of the prospectus, and the Banks havefiled with the SEC a Tender Offer Statement on Schedule TO and other relevantmaterials. The Form F-4 has not yet become effective. INVESTORS ARE URGED TOREAD ANY DOCUMENTS REGARDING THE OFFER BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANTINFORMATION. Investors may obtain a copy of such documents without charge, atthe SEC's website (http://www.sec.gov/). Copies of all documents filed inconnection with the offer may also be obtained from each Bank, without charge. This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation ofan offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in anyjurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful priorto registration or qualification under the securities laws of any suchjurisdiction. This press release is not an offer of securities for sale into theUnited States. No offering of securities shall be made in the United Statesexcept pursuant to registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, asamended, or an exemption therefrom. Forward-Looking Statements This announcement includes certain "forward-looking statements". Thesestatements are based on the current expectations of the Banks and are naturallysubject to uncertainty and changes in certain circumstances. Forward-lookingstatements include any synergy statements and, without limitation, otherstatements typically containing words such as "intends", "expects", "anticipates", "targets", "plans", "estimates" and words of similar import. By theirnature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because theyrelate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future.There are a number of factors that could cause actual results and developmentsto differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-lookingstatements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the presence of acompetitive offer for ABN AMRO, whether the Banks and ABN AMRO enter into anydefinitive agreement with respect to the potential acquisition of ABN AMRO,satisfaction of any conditions to the offer, including the receipt of requiredregulatory and anti-trust approvals, the successful completion of the offer orany subsequent compulsory acquisition procedure, the anticipated benefits of theoffer (including anticipated synergies) not being realized, the separation andintegration of ABN AMRO and its assets among the Banks being materially delayedor more costly or difficult than expected, as well as additional factors, suchas changes in economic conditions, changes in the regulatory environment,fluctuations in interest and exchange rates, the outcome of litigation andgovernment actions. Other unknown or unpredictable factors could cause actualresults to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Noneof the Banks undertake any obligation to update publicly or reviseforward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, futureevents or otherwise, except to the extent legally required. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fortis N.V., Archimedeslaan 6, 3584 BA Utrecht, Netherlands; Fortis S.A./N.V.,Rue Royale 20, 1000 Brussels, Belgium The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc, Head Office, Gogarburn, Edinburgh EH121HQ, UK. Registered Office, 36 St Andrew Square, Edinburgh EH2 2YB. Registeredin Scotland No 45551 Banco Santander Central Hispano, S.A., Ciudad Grupo Santander, Avenida deCantabria, s/n, 28660 Boadilla del Monte, Madrid, Spain This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
RBS.LBanco Santander