Financial services giant Royal London confirmed it has entered into M&A talks with fellow British mutual LV=.
The announcement comes after months of speculation around the bid by private equity firm Bain Capital, which was favoured by LV= over Royal London’s.
The proposed acquisition did not go through, however, as it did not receive enough votes from LV= members in December 2021.
Seamus Creedon, who will take on the role of interim chair at LV= from outgoing Alan Cook, said in a London Stock Exchange announcement: “We share a common interest with Royal London in a healthy and vibrant mutual sector so that we can both compete fairly with shareholder-owned firms.
“We have had, and continue to have, discussions with Royal London about if and how we can co-operate to the benefit of both sets of members and the mutual sector. In the meantime, we will continue to strengthen our independent business for the benefit of our existing and future policyholders.”
Royal London added: “We note LV=’s announcement and we can confirm we have had initial, exploratory discussions with them. There is no certainty that these discussions will result in a transaction and a further announcement will be made as and when appropriate.”
