Equity round-up: More end-of-year bloopers

ABN Amro bit off more than it could chew when it tried to sell a 4.9% stake in Dutch Telecom company KPN for the Dutch government in December. The bank was unable to offload the entire €883 million block and was left with stock on its books that rivals estimate could be worth hundreds of millions of euros. At least ABN Amro was in good company. Lehman Brothers and HVB also bungled a pre-Christmas trade. Lehman and HVB Corporates & Markets tried to sell an €804 million block of Munich Re shares, equivalent to about 3% of the company’s outstanding shares, at a price range of €116.75 to €117.50 a share, but the deal, on behalf of HVB’s parent, closed at just €116.30. Rivals believe the two might be facing seven-digit losses.