Joint Statement re ABN AMRO
Banco Santander S.A.
25 September 2007
24 September 2007 - Publication of Amendment to F-4
Fortis, RBS and Santander (collectively, the 'Banks') have today publicly filed
an amendment to the Form F-4 with the SEC. The Form F-4 was first filed on 20
July 2007 in connection with the Banks' offer for ABN AMRO. The amendments to
the Form F-4 include the provision of further detail on developments that have
been announced by the Banks in recent weeks, such as amendments in connection
with the Dutch Minister of Finance's consent and the status of the financing of
the offer. The amendments also include an update of regulatory approvals.
Copies of the offer documents and of documents incorporated by reference in the
offer documents may be obtained free of charge, subject to the same restrictions
as apply to the offers, by contacting the Dutch exchange agent or the global
information agent at the addresses and telephone numbers below.
The Dutch exchange agent: The global information agent:
Fortis Bank (Nederland) N.V. D.F. King & Co., Inc.
Rokin 55 2 London Wall Buildings, 2nd Floor
1012 KK Amsterdam London Wall, London EC2M 5PP
The Netherlands United Kingdom
Tel: +31 20 527 24 67 European Toll Free Help Line: 00 800 5464 5464
48 Wall Street, 22nd Floor
New York, NY 10005
United States
North American Toll Free Help Line: 1 (800)848 2998
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Important Information
This announcement is made pursuant to article 9b(1) of the Dutch Decree on the
Supervision 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 Form
F-4, which includes a preliminary version of the prospectus, and the Banks have
filed with the SEC a Tender Offer Statement on Schedule TO and other relevant
materials. The Form F-4 has not yet become effective. INVESTORS ARE URGED TO
READ ANY DOCUMENTS REGARDING THE OFFER BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT
INFORMATION. Investors may obtain a copy of such documents without charge, at
the SEC's website (http://www.sec.gov/). Copies of all documents filed in
connection with the offer may also be obtained from each Bank, without charge.
This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of
an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any
jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior
to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such
jurisdiction. This press release is not an offer of securities for sale into the
United States. No offering of securities shall be made in the United States
except pursuant to registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, or an exemption therefrom.
Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement includes certain 'forward-looking statements'. These
statements are based on the current expectations of the Banks and are naturally
subject to uncertainty and changes in certain circumstances. Forward-looking
statements include any synergy statements and, without limitation, other
statements typically containing words such as 'intends', 'expects',
'anticipates', 'targets', 'plans', 'estimates' and words of similar import. By
their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because
they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future.
There are a number of factors that could cause actual results and developments
to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the presence of a
competitive offer for ABN AMRO, whether the Banks and ABN AMRO enter into any
definitive agreement with respect to the potential acquisition of ABN AMRO,
satisfaction of any conditions to the offer, including the receipt of required
regulatory and anti-trust approvals, the successful completion of the offer or
any subsequent compulsory acquisition procedure, the anticipated benefits of the
offer (including anticipated synergies) not being realized, the separation and
integration of ABN AMRO and its assets among the Banks being materially delayed
or more costly or difficult than expected, as well as additional factors, such
as changes in economic conditions, changes in the regulatory environment,
fluctuations in interest and exchange rates, the outcome of litigation and
government actions. Other unknown or unpredictable factors could cause actual
results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. None
of the Banks undertake any obligation to update publicly or revise
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise, except to the extent legally required.
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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 EH12
1HQ, UK. Registered Office, 36 St Andrew Square, Edinburgh EH2 2YB. Registered
in Scotland No 45551
Banco Santander, S.A., Ciudad Grupo Santander, Avenida de Cantabria, s/n, 28660
Boadilla del Monte, Madrid, Spain
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange