Barclays on Monday revised its offer for ABN Amro to about €68bn ($94bn) after announcing it had persuaded China Development Bank and Singapore’s Temasek to take stakes in Barclays, investing up to €13.4bn.

The strategic investments enabled Barclays to inject about 37 per cent of cash into its ABN offer. The British bank’s bid is competing against a rival €71.1bn offer from a Royal Bank of Scotland-led consortium, which is 93 per cent in cash. Investors called the move “clever” and said it also gave Barclays a credible exit strategy if it were to walk away from ABN.