Pearl Group is lining up a €600m (£530m) Cayman Islands-based special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) as the provider of the £500m in new equity the life assurance group is seeking under its capital restructuring announced a month ago.

Liberty Acquisition Holdings is a “blank-cheque” company formed at the start of last year by two private equity investors solely to look for acquisition opportunities. It listed on Euronext in Amsterdam in February 2008.