ABN Amro to help lead manage its own IPO

The headquarters of ABN Amro Group in Amsterdam. The bank is expected to list 25% of its shares in an IPO that will value ABN at around €15.6bn, making it one of the biggest bank flotations in years.

Reuters/Amsterdam


ABN Amro will help lead manage its own initial public offering, the Dutch government agency tasked with overseeing the deal said on Friday.
The bank, which was nationalised in 2008, is expected to list 25% of its shares in an IPO that will value ABN at around €15.6bn ($17.5bn), making it one of the biggest bank flotations in years.
The NL Financial Investments agency’s moves to select ABN and begin vetting other investment banks suggest the government is proceeding swiftly to meet its target of carrying out the listing this year.
Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem threw that into some doubt this week when he said it might be difficult to achieve, due to delays in the process.
NL Financial Investments (NLFI) said on Friday it is seeking to limit the costs of the IPO to less than 1% of the proceeds. It also said it would scrutinise banks bidding to lead manage the issue to see if their remuneration policies meet European standards.
ABN Amro’s fee will be no more than the lowest fee agreed with another bank performing the same job, it said.
It granted ABN Amro the right to appoint one of the investment banks that will help lead the offering.
ABN Amro chose itself “in accordance with market practice,” NLFI said in a statement.
The other banks will not be chosen until at least several weeks after parliament approves the listing, probably on June 30.
In February, the agency published an initial selection of 26 banks eligible to participate in the IPO, including the 10 largest investment banks globally by assets, as well as the three biggest Dutch banks, ABN, ING and Rabobank.
A report in Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf on Friday said that in addition to ABN Amro, the NLFI wishes to choose at least one non-US bank to lead the IPO.
“That does not come from me,” said NLFI spokesman Huub Hieltjes, in a reaction.
The paper cited a letter it said had been sent this week to 13 banks who are still in the running, with Goldman Sachs , Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan and Bank of America currently considered the top candidates. Hieltjes said that one criterion will be “banks’ remuneration policy, whether it is in line with European standards.”