Swedish insurance firm Skandia still believes that the $6 billion takeover bid from Old Mutual was inadequate, despite the bid winning the support of 62% of its shareholders.
Skandia said that it would now begin talks with Old Mutual in order to work out the future for the two companies.
A central issue of these talks will be to agree a date for an extraordinary general meeting to consider the board’s new representation. Old Mutual has set a January 12 deadline for shareholders to consider its offer and an EGM is not expected until after that.
Old Mutual has been chasing Skandia for some months but has failed to find common group with the Swedish company’s management. Eventually the South African financial services firm went directly to the shareholders, achieving the 50% acceptance it needed for its hostile takeover to succeed.