Skandia suitor considers revision of bid plan

UK financial services group Old Mutual was today looking at ways to keep alive plans for a £3.1bn (€4.6bn) takeover of life insurance company Skandia.

The group said it would consider “selected modifications” to address issues raised by Skandia following talks with the company over the past week.

London-listed Old Mutual had told Skandia – the owner of a sizeable life insurance operation in the UK – that it would be prepared to pay 42 Swedish krona per share – equivalent to 43 billion Swedish krona (€4.6bn).

It added that talks with a number of Skandia’s large shareholders indicated that the majority of them would welcome such a proposal.

The company added: “Old Mutual is keen to secure a recommendation from the board of Skandia and is considering selected modifications to the proposal to address issues raised by the board of Skandia.”

Skandia’s largest markets are in the UK and Sweden but the company is also active in selected areas of Asia and Latin America, and in Australia. The company has almost 6,000 employees – including in London and Southampton – and generated sales of 98 billion Swedish krona (€10.4bn) in 2004.

Old Mutual is headquartered in South Africa but has around 10% of its funds under management in the UK.

The company, which has been linked to a number of potential major European acquisitions over the past five years, is thought to be keen on Skandia’s presence in the UK long-term savings market, where it is one of the largest players.

Skandia said last night in a short statement that it would any evaluate any offer when it appeared.