The added value of Rothschild, mainly its contacts in the market, has been diluted too much as companies select their own banks for equity and debt issues, leading to the break-up with ABN, Het Financieele Dagblad reported, citing unnamed sources.
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch bank ABN AMRO NV <AAH.AS><ABN.N>, bought by three banks in October, will end its joint venture with investment bank Rothschild <ROT.UL>, a Dutch newspaper reported on Tuesday.
The added value of Rothschild, mainly its contacts in the market, has been diluted too much as companies select their own banks for equity and debt issues, leading to the break-up with ABN, Het Financieele Dagblad reported, citing unnamed sources.
A spokesman for ABN, which was bought in October by Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L>, Spain's Santander <SAN.MC> and Belgian-Dutch Fortis <FOR.BR><FOR.AS> for 70 billion euros ($102.6 billion), said the bank was reviewing all its operations, including Rothschild, because of the takeover.
"All options are open," the spokesman said, but he declined to give details.
!ADVERTISEMENT!British bank Barclays <BARC.L>, which lost out to the bank trio in buying ABN as its offer was about 10 billion euros lower, was mentioned as a potential new partner of Rothschild, the paper said.
Under the ABN takeover deal with the three banks, RBS is buying ABN's Asian operations and ABN's wholesale and investment banking business, including the Rothschild partnership.
ABN AMRO and Rothschild established their partnership in 1996, in which ABN holds 70 percent and Rothschild the remainder. It employs about 150 investment bankers.
(Reporting by Gilbert Kreijger, editing by Will Waterman)
