Friends slams Cowdery’s bid after meeting
INSURER Friends Provident yesterday lashed out at Resolution, the buyout vehicle led by Clive Cowdery, saying its efforts to take over the firm are “totally inappropriate”.
The statement came after Friends’ chairman Sir Adrian Montague came face-to-face with Cowdery for the first time since the takeover plans were launched, at a meeting at the offices of Lazard, advisers to Resolution.
A source close to Friends said the 177-year old, FTSE 100 firm’s board is unlikely to consent to a takeover by Cowdery’s Guernsey-based vehicle, after it rejected a second, sweetened bid proposal from the firm.
“This is the trouble with really rich and arrogant people – they really feel like they can walk on water,” he said.
But last night a source close to Resolution said the buyout giant views Friends’ rejections as “posturing” and is confident another bid with further governance concessions will secure the board’s approval.
The governance concerns did not feature heavily at the meeting and are being used to secure further concessions, he said.
Friends’ rejection statement to markets said governance at Resolution, set up in 2008 purely to buy out firms, is “totally inappropriate in a public company context”.
The statement said Friends’ shareholders’ interests would be diluted by the “significant fees and preferential entitlements” that would be paid out to Resolution’s team under any deal.
Also present at the two-hour meeting were Friends’ chief executive Trevor Matthews, Resolution bosses Mike Biggs and former FSA head John Tiner, and buyout advice heavyweights from JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Lazard and Credit Suisse.
The advisers are now set to take over the talks ahead of a third Resolution offer, with more governance concessions, planned before Friends delivers interim results on 11 August.