Banca Antonveneta is the subject of a controversial bid battle

ABN Amro's 7.6bn euros (�5.2bn) looked dead and buried after most Antonveneta investors rejected it.

But a rival bid from Italian firm Banca Popolare has since run into trouble with Italian financial regulators.

ABN Amro said it would sell its existing stake in Antonveneta if it could not assume control of the firm.

Italian resistance

ABN Amro's hopes of acquiring Antonveneta were revived last week after Italian financial watchdog Consob suspended Popolare's rival approach, citing a "lack of information" in the bid.

It said it needed to look more closely at the details of the bid, and would rule on its status within three months.

We do not intend to hang around as a minority shareholder in any bank in the long term Rijkman Groenink, ABN Amro chief executive

There has been strong opposition to ABN Amro's bid within the Italian banking industry, which has traditionally resisted foreign companies' efforts to break into the market.

Question marks have been raised over the role of Italian central bank governor Antonio Fazio in the bid battle.

A newspaper last week published details of secret conversations it claimed had taken place between Mr Fazio and the head of Banca Popolare about the Bank of Italy's decision to approve its bid.

Wait and see

ABN Amro said it was "committed" to taking control of Antonveneta or else selling the 29.9% stake it has built up in the firm.

Only investors holding 2.9% of Antoveneta's shares backed ABN Amro's bid, well short of the 50% acceptance target it had set itself.

"We do not intend to hang around as a minority stakeholder in any bank in the long term," said chief executive Rijkman Groenink.

"All we can do is wait and see what the Italian authorities do to resolve the situation."

Separately, ABN Amro reported an 11% rise in second quarter profits to 987m euros, as it saw a drop in provisions for bad loans.