Pearl closes in on Resolution after third-party talks
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Pearl Group, the insurance group stalking Resolution, plans to offload more than £1bn of its rival's funds should it proceed with a £4.5bn takeover.
It is believed that Pearl has held talks with several insurance groups, including Standard Life, about a side-deal that would see all of Resolution's non-closed funds off-loaded to a third party.
The existence of talks between Pearl, headed by Hugh Osmond, and some of Europe's largest insurance groups will heighten expectations that he is poised to make a knock-out bid for Resolution.
It is understood that Resolution held talks with Standard Life last year over a possible deal to offload some of its funds, but negotiations broke down. As well as Standard Life, the likes of Swiss Re, Zurich and others would also be keen to snap up unwanted assets.
Resolution chairman Clive Cowdrey wants his company to merge with Friends Provident. However, that deal is opposed by Pearl, which has built up a 16.8 per cent stake in Resolution.
Friends Provident's share price has fallen over the last two weeks while Resolution's have risen. Analysts have said that this is because the market is now expecting a successful Pearl bid for Resolution as the most likely outcome of the talks.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments