Shareholders of RSA Insurance have ordered the firm to be put up for sale after the discovery of a £500m shortfall on its books that forced the resignation of its chief executive.
The Sunday Times reports large investors in the FTSE 100 business have written to demand it solicit takeover bids. The report said Allianz, Axa and Zurich are all interested in the three hundred year old business. Other investors are calling for the sale of its Canadian business or its rapidly expanding South American operations. Chief executive Simon Lee resigned on Thursday last week following the third profit warning in six weeks. It said an inquiry into its Irish operations led to unexpected losses. Shares tumbled on the news, dropping as much as a fifth during Friday trading...
To continue reading this article...
Join Investment Week for free
Signup and gain exclusive members-only insights - all free of charge!
- Unlimited access to real-time news, analysis and opinion from the investment industry, including the Sustainable Hub covering fund news from the ESG space
- Get ahead of regulatory and technological changes affecting fund management
- Important and breaking news stories selected by the editors delivered straight to your inbox each day
- Weekly members-only newsletter with exclusive opinion pieces from leading industry experts
- Be the first to hear about our extensive events schedule and awards programmes
