Specialist insurer Rothesay Life is reportedly mulling a £3.5bn takeover bid for the UK arm of insurance giant Swiss Re, a move that would scupper plans for a stock market flotation of the division.
Rothesay approached Swiss Re over a potential offer for its ReAssure unit several weeks ago but it is not known whether a formal bid will be made, according to Sky News.
Swiss Re appointed Mark Hodges from Centrica last month to steer the ReAssure listing in London this year and lead the stand-alone business, which specialises in managing the closed books of life insurance companies. Closed books are policies that are no longer sold by insurers but continue to draw premiums from customers.
