Pru left with €542m bill as AIA deal collapses

Insurer Prudential was left with a £450m (€542m) bill today after its £24bn (€28.9bn) Asian adventure came to a humiliating end.

The Pru’s bid to buy AIA – the Asian arm of bailed-out US insurance giant AIG - finally collapsed after its shareholders baulked at the hefty price and chief executive Tidjane Thiam failed to renegotiate the deal.

Mr Thiam – who only took over the top job last October – will now face pressure to quit with his plans for a ground-breaking acquisition in ruins.

The withdrawal leaves the insurer with a £152.6m (€183m) break fee as well as advisory costs and fees, £450m (€542m) in total, connected with the record £14.5bn (€17.4bn) shareholder cash-call it planned to fund the deal.