AMSTERDAM (Dow Jones) -- The Dutch Supreme Court has ruled that ABN Amro does not need shareholder approval for the sale of its US business LaSalle to Bank of America, boosting Barclays' chances of winning in its bid to take over the Dutch bank.

ABN Amro announced the $21bn sale of LaSalle to Bank of America on April 23, alongside its announcement that Barclays had made a friendly offer for the Dutch bank of €36.25 a share; valuing the whole of ABN Amro at €63bn, including LaSalle. The sale of LaSalle was a condition of the Barclays deal.