Aviva has submitted an ’opportunistic’ proposal to DLG
Direct Line Group (DLG) has rejected a £3.28bn takeover attempt from rival insurer Aviva.
A statement yesterday evening (27 November 2024) revealed that Aviva was looking at a possible offer to acquire 100% of DLG for 250 pence per share.
Aviva, which submitted such a proposal to DLG on 19 November, felt that a deal would help it grow in the UK personal lines market.
However, DLG described the bid as “an unsolicited, indicative and conditional cash and share proposal”.
And this ended up being unanimously rejected by the board, with it concluding that the offer was “highly opportunistic and substantially undervalued the company”.
DLG added: “The board has considerable conviction in the capabilities of our newly established leadership team and stands firmly behind their delivery of our strategy.
“Under this strategy, the company continues to make early progress towards our financial targets and expects to deliver attractive growth in profitability, capital generation and shareholder returns.
“As such, the board considered the proposal to not reflect the standalone value that can be delivered by the company and hence considered the possible offer highly opportunistic in nature.”
According to British takeover rules, Aviva has until 25 December 2024 to make a firm offer or walk away.
Ageas
This comes after Ageas announced a possible £3.1bn bid for DLG on 28 February 2024, before improving the terms of this on 13 March 2024.
Read: DLG confirms appointment of ex-Aviva c-suite
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Both proposals were rejected by DLG, claiming they were “uncertain, unattractive and that it significantly undervalues DLG and its future prospects, while also being highly opportunistic in nature”.
As a result, Ageas walked away, with the firm “not able to identify additional elements based on publicly available information that would justify significant adjustments to the terms of its possible offer”.
The insurer added that while it sought engagement with the DLG board throughout the process, it “regrets that it has not been able to work collaboratively together” for any firm offer.
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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