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Belgian insurer Ageas said it is considering making a £3.1bn offer for Direct Line, the UK motor insurer that lost its chief executive last year after a string of profit warnings hammered its share price.
Ageas said on Wednesday it was examining a possible offer made up of cash and its own stock, amounting to an implied value of 233p per Direct Line share, a premium of 43 per cent to the group’s closing share price on Tuesday.
The Brussels-based group said a deal would strengthen its position in the European market and help it rebalance towards non-life insurance business.
Shares in Direct Line were up 20 per cent in afternoon trading.
