ABN Amro IPO values bank at $17.9bln

AMSTERDAM: Certificates in the initial public offering (IPO) of ABN Amro have been valued at 17.75 euros each, the bank said on Friday, and the Dutch state will raise at least 3.3 billion euros ($3.54 billion) in the largest European bank listing since the 2008 financial crisis.
At the IPO price, ABN is valued at around 16.7 billion euros. The Dutch state is selling 20 percent in the privatisation, or 23 percent including an over-allotment option, and intends to sell the rest in tranches.
ABN certificates - each representing one share - will begin trading later on Friday.
The actual shares are held by an independent foundation with the power to resist an unwanted takeover, as the Dutch government is determined to prevent a repeat of the mistakes that led to ABN's nationalisation.
ABN was a much larger bank in 2007, when it was carved up in a 71 billion euro ($76 bln) hostile acquisition by Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander and the now defunct Fortis that was nominally the largest ever in the banking industry.
The state had to intervene in 2008 to rescue the Dutch operations of both ABN and would-be acquirer Fortis to avoid a crippling bankruptcy.