Below is the story of events that led to Aviva being successful in reaching a preliminary agreement with DLG over a potential acquisition
The big news in the insurance industry at the moment is that Direct Line Group (DLG) has accepted an improved takeover proposal from Aviva.
In a joint statement this morning (6 December 2024), it was announced that Aviva had upped its offer from 250 to 275 pence per share, which equals a valuation of £3.6bn.
The two firms have now reached a preliminary agreement on the financial terms for a potential acquisition.
Below is the story of events that have led to this latest development.
The story
In November 2024, Aviva revealed that it was looking at a possible offer to acquire 100% of DLG for 250 pence per share. The deal was valued at £3.3bn.
However, the DLG board described the bid as “an unsolicited, indicative and conditional cash and share proposal”.
As a result, the offer ended up being unanimously rejected by the board.
Read: DLG responds to Aviva’s major £3.3bn takeover bid
However, while DLG had declined to engage further at the time, Aviva made sure to highlight the benefits of such a deal.
The insurer said: “Aviva believes that an acquisition of DLG would be consistent with its strategy to accelerate growth in its UK businesses and further pivot the group towards capital-light business lines.
“The acquisition would expand Aviva’s presence in the attractive UK personal lines market, building on its existing strength and creating a more efficient platform from which to serve existing and new customers.”
Read: DLG ‘declines to engage further’ with Aviva after takeover attempt
It was then revealed by The Guardian, that Aviva chief executive Amanda Blanc “has been on a charm offensive, talking to a number of Direct Line shareholders to persuade them of the merits of its approach and to get them to encourage the board to engage in talks”.
However, DLG chief executive Adam Winslow appealed to shareholders to give him more time to turn the insurer around for the better.
Winslow told The Sunday Times: “We’re making excellent progress in the early stages of a significant turnaround, with a refreshed and world-class leadership team in place to deliver the strategy.”
And speaking about his former boss Blanc, he said: “I respect her. She’s doing her job, but I’ve got my job to do, which is to drive value for shareholders.”
Read: Winslow’s plea to DLG shareholders as Aviva on ‘charm offensive’ over takeover bid
DLG founder Peter Wood also had his say, with him feeling that Aviva had to raise its bid for DLG if it wanted to be successful in its takeover attempt.
Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, Wood said Aviva needed to raise its offer by “several hundred million pounds” to secure control of its rival.
Read: DLG founder responds to Aviva takeover bid
Aviva did exactly this, with it upping its offer from 250 to 275 pence per share, which equals a valuation of £3.6bn.
The DLG board said that it had “carefully considered the proposal” from Aviva and that it was minded to recommend to shareholders that they accept a formal offer.
The board also felt the combination of the two firms ”would provide the opportunity to deliver significant synergies, creating substantial additional value for both sets of shareholders”.
Read: DLG accepts £3.6bn takeover offer from Aviva
His career began in 2019, when he joined a local north London newspaper after graduating from the University of Sheffield with a first-class honours degree in journalism.
He took up the position of deputy news editor at Insurance Times in March 2023, before being promoted to his current role in May 2024.View full Profile
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