Stmt. re Recommended Merger

Barclays PLC
02 July 2007



This document shall not constitute an offer to sell or buy or the solicitation
of an offer to buy or sell any securities, nor shall there be any sale or
purchase 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. The availability of Barclays offer to
persons not resident in the United States, the Netherlands and the United
Kingdom may be affected by the laws of the relevant jurisdictions (the
'Restricted Jurisdictions'). Such persons should inform themselves about and
observe any applicable requirements.


                                                                     2 July 2007


Barclays Recommended Merger with ABN AMRO - Update on Offer


In their announcement of 23rd May, Barclays PLC ('Barclays') and ABN AMRO
Holding N.V. ('ABN AMRO') indicated that Barclays Offer Documentation would be
published in July subject to the satisfaction of all pre-conditions specified in
the original press release dated 23rd April.

Good progress continues to be made in relation to the pre-conditions,
documentation and regulatory change of control approvals. Since the regulatory
review processes relating to the documentation are not yet completed, the AFM
has agreed an extension so that an announcement on the availability of the
formal Offer Documentation can take place on or before 23rd July, 2007 (1).

This will not impact on the Offer timetable as outlined in the announcement of
23rd April, 2007 and affirmed in the announcement of 23rd May.

This is an announcement within the meaning of article 9b paragraph 1 of the
Dutch Securities Market Supervision Decree (Besluit toezicht effectenverkeer
1995).


(1) Under the Dutch Securities Market Supervision Decree, the six-week term
following the 23rd May 2007 announcement would without extension expire on 5th
July 2007.


Enquiries:

ABN AMRO
ANALYSTS AND INVESTORS
Dies Donker [phone]
Alex van Leeuwen + 1-312-992 0818
Alexander Mollerus [phone]

MEDIA
Jochem van de Laarschot [phone]
Neil Moorhouse [phone]
Piers Townsend [phone]


Barclays
ANALYSTS AND INVESTORS
Mark Merson [phone]
James S Johnson [phone]

MEDIA
Stephen Whitehead [phone]
Alistair Smith [phone]




Other Information

This document shall not constitute an offer to sell or buy or the solicitation
of an offer to buy or sell any securities, nor shall there be any sale or
purchase 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. The availability of Barclays offer to
persons not resident in the United States, the Netherlands and the United
Kingdom may be affected by the laws of the relevant jurisdictions (the
'Restricted Jurisdictions'). Such persons should inform themselves about and
observe any applicable requirements.

The offer will not be made, directly or indirectly, in any Restricted
Jurisdiction unless by means of lawful prior registration or qualification under
the applicable laws of the Restricted Jurisdiction, or under an exemption from
such requirements including, in the case of the US, except by means of a
prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the US Securities Act of
1933, as amended. Accordingly, copies of this announcement are not being, and
must not be, mailed or otherwise distributed or sent in, into or from such
Restricted Jurisdiction. Persons receiving this announcement (including, without
limitation, custodians, nominees and trustees) must not distribute, mail or send
it in, into or from any Restricted Jurisdiction, and so doing may render any
purported acceptance of the offer invalid.


SEC Filings and this Filing: Important Information

In connection with the proposed business combination transaction between ABN
AMRO and Barclays, Barclays has filed with the SEC a Registration Statement on
Form F-4 ('Form F-4'), which includes a preliminary version of the Barclays
offer document/prospectus. The Form F-4 has not yet become effective. Barclays
expects that it will also file with the SEC a Statement on Schedule TO and other
relevant materials. In addition, ABN AMRO expects that it will file with the SEC
a Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9 and other relevant materials.
Following the Form F-4 being declared effective by the SEC, Barclays intends to
mail the final offer document/prospectus to ABN AMRO shareholders.

Such final documents, however, are not currently available. INVESTORS ARE URGED
TO READ THE FINAL OFFER DOCUMENT/PROSPECTUS AND ANY DOCUMENTS REGARDING THE
POTENTIAL TRANSACTION IF AND WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE, BECAUSE THEY WILL
CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION.

Investors will be able to obtain a free copy of the Form F-4, the final offer
document/prospectus and other filings without charge, at the SEC's website (
www.sec.gov) if and when such documents are filed with the SEC. Copies of such
documents may also be obtained from ABN AMRO and Barclays without charge, if and
when they are filed with the SEC.


Forward Looking Statements

This document contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of
Section 21E of the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section
27A of the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended, with respect to certain of ABN
AMRO's and Barclays plans and their current goals and expectations relating to
their future financial condition and performance and which involve a number of
risks and uncertainties. Barclays caution readers that no forward-looking
statement is a guarantee of future performance and that actual results could
differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate
only to historical or current facts. Forward-looking statements sometimes use
words such as 'aim', 'anticipate', 'target', 'expect', 'estimate', 'intend',
'plan', 'goal', 'believe', or other words of similar meaning. Examples of
forward-looking statements include, among others, statements regarding the
consummation of the business combination between ABN AMRO and Barclays within
the expected timeframe and on the expected terms (if at all), the benefits of
the business combination transaction involving ABN AMRO and Barclays, including
the achievement of synergy targets, ABN AMRO's and Barclays future financial
position, income growth, impairment charges, business strategy, projected costs
and estimates of capital expenditure and revenue benefits, projected levels of
growth in the banking and financial markets, the combined group's future
financial and operating results, future financial position, projected costs and
estimates of capital expenditures, and plans and objectives for future
operations of ABN AMRO, Barclays and the combined group and other statements
that are not historical fact. Additional risks and factors are identified in ABN
AMRO and Barclays filings with the SEC including ABN AMRO and Barclays Annual
Reports on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2006, which are
available on ABN AMRO's website at www.abnamro.com and Barclays website at
www.barclays.com respectively, and on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.

Any forward-looking statements made herein speak only as of the date they are
made. Barclays does not undertake to update forward-looking statements to
reflect any changes in expectations with regard thereto or any changes in
events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. The
reader should, however, consult any additional disclosures that ABN AMRO and
Barclays have made or may make in documents they have filed or may file with the
SEC.


                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange