RBS consortium seals ABN Amro takeover, as chairman quits
LONDON (AFP) - - A European consortium led by Royal Bank of Scotland on Wednesday declared victory in the takeover battle for Dutch group ABN Amro, sealing the biggest takeover in banking history and prompting the resignation of ABN's chairman. Rijkman Groenink stepped down after opposing the consortium's mostly cash bid worth 100 billion dollars (71 billion euros), which prevailed over an offer from British bank Barclays. The consortium, also comprising Belgian-Dutch group Fortis and Spain's Banco Santander, will now break up ABN Amro -- a move criticised by Groenink. The takeover is also expected to involve the loss of up to 19,000 jobs at ABN Amro . RBS chief executive Fred Goodwin rejoiced in the victory but acknowledged that much work lay ahead. "It is good to get to the end of what has been a very long road," Goodwin told reporters on a conference call. "There is still a huge amount of work out there to do," he added. Axel Pierron, an analyst at fi