THE HAGUE: The Dutch government has rejected an offer by giant Scandinavian lender Nordea Bank to merge with The Netherlands’ third largest bank ABN Amro, Dutch newspapers reported Friday.
“Nordea chairman Bjorn Wahlroos met secretly in recent months with among others ABN Amro chief Gerrit Zalm,” the NRC Handelsblad daily newspaper said.
“A meeting was also planned with Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, as the Dutch state is the bank’s biggest shareholder, on September 19,” the paper said, adding it had obtained a leaked memorandum sent to Dijsselbloem a week before the planned talks.
It is unclear if that meeting ever took place, and ABN Amro, which traces its roots back to the 19th century, and the Dutch finance ministry declined AFP’s request for comment.
“Nordea’s bid however was rejected,” the paper said, quoting unnamed sources.
A source familiar with the matter on Friday confirmed to AFP that Nordea’s bid had been nixed.
According to the memo, the Nordea chief proposed a so-called “reverse merger” which would consist of a share swap.
This would mean that Nordea would move to The Netherlands and ABN Amro’s holding company would continue to exist and would then incorporate both the Dutch and Swedish-based lenders
