Gordian knot

Rijkman Groenink has tied ABN Amro in knots by selling its US business to Bank of America without holding a shareholders’ vote. Even if the bank’s boss didn’t break Dutch law, the BoA deal looks likely to hurt his shareholders. No wonder one of them - TCI - is publicly calling for his head. The sale of LaSalle to BoA for $21bn in cash may not legally be a poison pill. The contract ABN has signed would still permit Royal Bank of Scotland to make a counter-bid in cash if it thought the US unit we...