Financier, Andrew Regan, has hit the headlines yet again after his failed bid for the Co-operative Wholesale Society in 1997, this time with his intentions of acquiring Britain’s second largest general insurer, Royal & Sun Alliance.
According to reports, Regan has been observing the £2.4 billion worth Royal & Sun Alliance as a leading takeover target, saying that its shares have been undervalued by the stock market. He apparently, also tried arranging finance for the bid during his trip to New York last month.
Following news of a possible acquisition by a ‘high profile UK entrepreneur” last week, FTSE 100 shares of the insurer closed up 5% at 81½p.
Even though Regan has been considering other prospective acquisitions as well, RSA seems to be at the top of his list. Nevertheless, his team still is yet to sort out major obstacles on the way, like the £500m pension deficit along with the problems at RSA’s American arm. It is being anticipated that Regan will approach RSA through his AIM-quoted investment vehicle, Corvus Capital. Regan is the chief executive of Corvus, retaining about 29.96pc stake in the group.
Striking the market again with a bid, speaks volumes about Regan’s guts in business after the miserable fallout of the Co-op’s takeover incident. Meanwhile, RSA’s performance in the first quarter has been quite commendable, what with its profits becoming three-fold, owing to benefits accruing from its restructuring programme.
Posted
on : Mon, 13 Jun 2005 14:55 GMT | Insurance News
By : Salim Patel
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