The market is not sentimental. Aviva's takeover of Direct Line could be done by Christmas
The Guardian|November 29, 2024
Prepare for the dance. Aviva is a big grown-up FTSE 100 insurer with a respected chief executive who doesn't launch takeover offers on a whim; Amanda Blanc will have a strategy to go the distance.
Nils Pratley
The market is not sentimental. Aviva's takeover of Direct Line could be done by Christmas

Direct Line, on the other hand, is a troubled FTSE 250 insurer with a new-ish chief executive, Adam Winslow, whose turnaround plan has not been applauded wildly by the stock market.

Aviva's 250p-a-share, or £3.3bn, offer for Direct Line therefore looks to be the opening shot in a negotiation. The target's board spouted the standard form of words - a "substantial" undervaluation - but will also know there will be a price at which it will be obliged by its own shareholders to talk terms. This tussle looks to be about where that price lies. Within a 270-290p range, one suspects. Aviva starts as a heavy favourite to prevail.

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