April 23 (Bloomberg) -- Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc called off planned takeover talks today with ABN Amro Holding NV after the Dutch bank agreed to sell its U.S. unit as part of a 67 billion-euro ($90.1 billion) acquisition by Barclays Plc.

ABN Amro shares dropped 1.4 percent to 35.77 euros in Amsterdam after rising as much as 3.3 percent before Royal Bank's announcement. Royal Bank, Santander Central Hispano SA and Fortis were due to meet with ABN Amro today in Amsterdam to propose a rival bid. The group said its proposal was disrupted by ABN Amro's agreement to sell Chicago-based LaSalle Bank for $21 billion to Bank of America Corp.

``The banks need to understand the circumstances under which this sale can be terminated,'' the group said in a statement on Regulatory News Service today. ``The banks are requesting this information today. Accordingly, the banks do not consider it appropriate to meet with ABN Amro today.''

Santander, Spain's largest bank, would probably take the Latin American business as well as ABN Amro's Italian holdings, UBS AG analyst Stephen Andrews said in a note on April 16. Fortis, based in Brussels and the Dutch city of Utrecht, would likely keep the Dutch operations as well as the private equity and private banking arms, he said.

``We have not received anything else than a vague letter from a consortium which makes it absolutely clear they were out for deconstruction at the bank,'' Groenink said earlier at a press conference in Amsterdam.

Disclosure Demand

TCI Fund Management LLP, the London-based hedge fund that urged the breakup of ABN Amro Holding NV two months ago, said ABN Amro should reveal how the sale of the Dutch bank's LaSalle unit can be terminated.

``TCI insist on immediate further disclosure of LaSalle bank terms,'' the hedge fund said in an e-mailed statement today. ``We are concerned the pre-agreed sale of Lasalle Bank unfairly hinders the RBS consortium.''

Under the agreement, ABN Amro can approve a higher offer for LaSalle than that of Bank of America within 14 days, according to its statement today. Bank of America can then make a counter offer and will get a $200 million termination fee under ``limited circumstances.''

For Royal Bank, acquiring ABN Amro's LaSalle unit and merging it with the company's Citizens division in the U.S. is crucial to gain cost savings and revenue benefits, analysts say.

``I would be surprised if Royal Bank would want to go head to head with Bank of America in bidding for LaSalle,'' said Simon Maughan, a London-based analyst at Blue Oak Capital Ltd. Maughan has a ``buy'' rating on ABN Amro's stock and a ``sell'' rating on Barclays and Royal Bank shares. ``If they want to buy LaSalle, they will have to bid for the whole of ABN Amro.''

A Royal Bank-led bid may be able to offer 40 euros a share or more for ABN Amro by cutting more jobs than Barclays, analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Ltd., have said. Barclays's offer today amounts to 36.25 euros a share.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jon Menon in London Jmenon1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 23, 2007 14:24 EDT