Resolution and Friends pile pressure on Panel

Pressure was mounting on the Takeover Panel to set a deadline for competing offers for Resolution, the UK closed-life business, after Friends Provident and its would-be acquirer set out the timetable for their own merger.

Friends, which is one of the UK’s largest insurers, and Resolution set November 5 as the date for their extraordinary general meeting to approve the deal, with November 29 agreed as the day the transaction would become final.

“In the light of recent speculation in relation to potential offers for Resolution, Resolution confirmed on 28 September 2007 that it is providing continued due diligence and management meetings to potential offerors,” said the statement, which also reiterated that there have been no competing offers so far.

“In order to ensure that Resolution shareholders have sufficient time to consider any alternative offers (should any be forthcoming) prior to the EGM vote, Resolution has requested the Takeover Panel set a timetable by which potential offerors must clarify their intentions. The publication of our updated merger timetable will enable the Takeover Panel to set the clarification timetable,” said the statement.

Pearl, which also specialises in closed life business, and Standard Life, the former mutual company, have been mulling a possible rival offer for Resolution since July when Resolution and Friends said they were planning to merge. Pearl is now Resolution’s largest investor with over 16 per cent of its shares.

Friends gave a trading update, saying that in the third quarter it performed in line with expectations, with total life and pension sales in the nine months to September 30 up over 16 per cent from the previous year to over £5.4bn. It said within that total, UK sales were up over 11 per cent to over £3.4bn. International sales were up over 25 per cent to top £2bn.