Pearl seeks to raise £500m ahead of IPO
Closed life fund consolidator, Pearl Group, has revealed plans to raise £500 million of capital prior to an initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange.
The group, which is best remembered for its lengthy battle to acquire Resolution in 2007, has told The Times that, while it sees itself in a market full of opportunities, funding future acquisition through debt is no longer appropriate.
Pearl’s acquisition ambitions may bring it into competition with Resolution Ltd, a relatively new venture set up by Clive Cowdery, the former head of the Pearl-acquired Resolution.
Mr Cowdery has plans for the flotation of the £1 billion acquisition vehicle which will buy outright, or acquire stakes in, companies in the banking, life insurance and asset management sectors.
However, progress has been interrupted by a Financial Services Authority (FSA) investigation into circumstances surrounding the sale of Resolution to Pearl.
When the deal was announced in November of 2007, Pearl was Resolution’s largest shareholder and according to reports, the FSA is examining events that occurred between October 2007 and May 2008; the point at which the sale was completed.
Category: Companies News, Insurance News, Resolution News
Visited 1494 times, 1 so far today
Comments (0)
Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed
There are no comments yet. Why not be the first to speak your mind.