April 26 (Bloomberg) -- ABN Amro Holding NV shareholders said they will take legal action against the biggest Dutch bank after Chief Executive Officer Rijkman Groenink agreed to sell it to Barclays Plc.

ABN Amro held its annual meeting as it works with Barclays to fend off a rival group led by Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc. Investors called for a vote to block the sale of ABN Amro's LaSalle unit to Bank of America Corp. for $21 billion, saying it may deter Royal Bank from outbidding Barclays.

Peter Paul de Vries, the director of the VEB investor group, said at today's meeting in The Hague that he will ask the Dutch court to block the sale of LaSalle because shareholders were not consulted. At one point, he charged the stage and was sent back to his seat by two guards.

``Aren't you just using sleazy tricks?'' De Vries said. When Groenink rebuked him, De Vries said: ``I'm more than happy to withdraw the sleazy if you're willing to put the LaSalle sale to the shareholders.''

Amsterdam-based ABN Amro sealed accords with Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America and Barclays of London three days ago. It isn't legally required to put the sale of LaSalle to shareholders, Chairman Arthur Martinez said. The unit represents less than 30 percent of total assets and a disposal won't change its identity, Groenink told shareholders.

Applause

Royal Bank, Santander Central Hispano SA and Fortis yesterday said they would pay 72.2 billion euros ($98.2 billion) in cash and stock for ABN Amro. Barclays's all-stock bid was worth about 64 billion euros at the close of trading today.

The board earlier bowed to pressure from shareholders to rearrange the agenda of its annual meeting and explain its strategy. Groenink then won applause for a speech describing the decision of the executive board in February to look for a merger ``with a bigger partner.''

The sale of LaSalle is ``at the best price ever'' and in the interest of shareholders, Groenink said. ABN Amro is ``actively'' soliciting other higher offers, he said.

Shares of ABN Amro have surged 33 percent since the bank said it was in talks with Barclays on March 19. They rose 0.3 percent to 36.30 euros today in Amsterdam.

``We want to compliment Groenink on his presentation,'' Alex Otto, chief investment officer at Delta Lloyd Asset Management, said at the meeting. He holds 1 percent of ABN Amro shares. ``His plans are the best for all stakeholders, including long-term investors like us.''

`Breakup Strategy'

About 68 percent of shareholders voted for a proposal urging the board to consider selling off all or part of the bank. London-based hedge fund TCI Fund Management LLP put forward the motion in February, sparking takeover talks. Groenink said afterwards he is not disappointed by the vote.

``We're conducting a strategy and TCI's call for a breakup is part of our strategy,'' Groenink told reporters.

Migelien Gerritzen, an individual investor who has held ABN Amro shares since 2000, complained that the meeting, which started at 2 p.m., went on too long and had turned nasty. Still, she said it was a shame that ABN Amro was being bought.

``It's another piece of Dutch history being thrown away,'' she said as she and half of the participants left the meeting before a final vote.

To contact the reporter on this story: Martijn van der Starre in Amsterdam vanderstarre@bloomberg.net; Jeroen Molenaar in Amsterdam jmolenaar1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 26, 2007 15:04 EDT