Aviva tries to sweet-talk shareholders on merits of £5.6bn tie-up with rival Friends Life
Aviva is this weekend aiming to persuade its own shareholders of the merits of its proposed deal for a £5.6billion tie-up with rival Friends Life.
The agreed deal was leaked on Friday, accelerating a merger plan the pair had been discussing for several weeks. Aviva is offering 0.74 Aviva shares for every Friends Life share, valuing each Friends Life share at just under 399p. Friends Life shares closed at 347.7p on Friday.
Aviva is understood to have begun talking to its biggest investors including The People’s Republic of China, the insurer’s seventh largest shareholder, about the deal.
Merging: Aviva is this weekend aiming to persuade its own shareholders of the merits of its proposed deal for a £5.6billion tie-up with rival Friends Life
The merger will create a big player in the protection market – insurance policies covering customers against critical illness –with some suggesting it would double Aviva’s market share. Sources yesterday insisted that the deal was unlikely to pose any competition concerns, however.
Friends Life is also strong in providing pension schemes for large companies, whereas Aviva has a bigger share among smaller firms.
Friends Life saw its share price plummet earlier this year after the Chancellor announced reforms to the annuities market that mean pension savers will no longer have to buy the products – but it has recovered much of the ground since and the offer is above the highs the shares reached in March before the annuity announcements.
Most watched Money videos
- 'Now even better': Nissan Qashqai gets a facelift for 2024 version
- Blue Whale fund manager on the best of the Magnificent 7
- Mercedes has finally unveiled its new electric G-Class
- Mini Cooper SE: The British icon gets an all-electric makeover
- Top Gear takes Jamiroquai's lead singer's Lamborghini for a spin
- Incredibly rare MG Metro 6R4 rally car sells for a record £425,500
- Land Rover unveil newest all-electric Range Rover SUV
- A look inside the new Ineos Quartermaster off-road pickup truck
- Kia's 372-mile compact electric SUV - and it could costs under £30k
- Footage of the Peugeot fastback all-electric e-3008 range
- Porsche 'refreshed' 911 is the first to feature hybrid power
- Introducing Britain's new sports car: The electric buggy Callum Skye
- SALLY SORTS IT: The pricey taxi scam plaguing Brits...
- MARKET REPORT: Pressure grows on Hut Group to axe chairman
- Raising taxes on banks and the oil firms risks driving...
- What the Conservative manifesto means for your finances:...
- Meme stocks roar back: The shares grabbing attention -...
- What the election means for investments and pensions
- The renting Wild West revealed: How desperate tenants are...
- London stock market primed for an upturn, says...
- Apple teams up with OpenAI - giving iPhone users access...
- Norway fund 'not cool' for voting down my £45bn pay...
- GSK and rival drugmakers kickstart process to appeal US...
- Walgreens drops Boots' London listing plan to focus on...
- Macron election call sparks market mayhem: Pound hits...
- Heathrow prepares for record summer of 30m passengers set...
- FirstGroup hikes divi as profits surge despite strike woes
- BUSINESS LIVE: Unemployment rises to 4.4%; Raspberry Pi...
- Raspberry Pi shares rocket almost 40% on London stock...
- Disabled drivers overlooked in EV transition as just 2%...