<div><p>AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - ABN AMRO, Goldman Sachs and World Online misled investors during the 2000 initial public offering (IPO) of the Dutch Internet provider, the Dutch Supreme Court ruled on Friday.</p><p>The listing of World Online in March 2000 was the biggest Dutch Internet IPO at the time, valuing the company at 12 billion euros ($18 billion). The stock plunged after it became known that World Online's chief executive had sold shares far below the IPO price before the stock was floated.</p><p>ABN AMRO and Goldman Sachs were jointly global coordinator, lead manager and bookrunner of the IPO.</p><p>"The unlawful behavior of World Online, ABN AMRO <ABNNV.UL>, and Goldman Sachs <GS.N> has been confirmed by this ruling of the Supreme Court," the court said in a statement.</p><p>Investors lost a total of 2.3 billion euros and should be entitled to damages, shareholder group VEB said in statement.</p><p>The Supreme Court confirmed a lower court's verdict after an appeal from the three defendants and an added allegation from VEB that ABN AMRO had manipulated the share price.</p><p>The Supreme Court concluded that ABN AMRO had brought about "a misleading opening price" by buying shares.</p><p>Nina Brink, World Online's CEO at the time, sold stakes in the company for $6.04 per share almost three months ahead of the public offering, effectively offering a discount to the IPO price. World Online's shares tanked after news of the share sales broke after the listing.</p><p>The Supreme Court said there was unlawful behavior because the IPO's prospectus did not mention Brink had sold shares.</p><p>It also said that World Online gave false information in announcing alliances with other companies, which according to the Supreme Court were "hardly of any substance."</p><p>Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which currently owns the ABN AMRO unit that co-managed the IPO, and Goldman Sachs declined to comment.</p><p>A spokeswoman for Italy's broadband provider Tiscali <TIS.MI>, which bought World Online in late 2000 for 3.4 billion euros in Tiscali shares, said World Online would publish a statement later on Friday.</p><p>(Reporting by Gilbert Kreijger; edited by Karen Foster)</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=64341540&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

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