Direct Line confident in standalone prospects as Ageas abandons pursuit

Direct Line said on Monday that it was confident in its standalone prospects after Belgium’s Ageas announced it would not be making an offer for the insurer following two failed attempts at engaging with the board.

"As communicated at Direct Line Group's 2023 preliminary results on 21 March 2024, the board believes under Adam Winslow's leadership the company is well-positioned to drive material improvement in performance that is expected to unlock significant value for Direct Line Group shareholders," the London-listed insurer said.

In a statement late on Friday, Ageas expressed regret that it was not able to "work collaboratively" with the Direct Line board towards a recommended firm offer.

"Ageas was not able to identify additional elements based on publicly available information that would justify significant adjustments to the terms of its possible offer. Therefore, consistent with its financial discipline, Ageas has decided not to make a firm offer," it said.

"Ageas continues to believe in the underlying attractiveness and future opportunities of the UK personal lines sector and the role of Ageas UK in this market, underpinned by its successful turnaround over the last few years.

"Ageas UK will continue to execute its focused personal lines insurance strategy alongside its valued distribution partners."

On 28 February, Direct Line announced that it had rejected a £3.1bn offer from Ageas. This comprised 100p in cash and one new Ageas share for every 25.24 Direct Line shares, and implied a value of 233p per share.

On 13 March, the insurer said it had received and rejected a second takeover approach from its Belgian rival as it continued to undervalue the group. That approach, received on 9 March, was 120p a share in cash and one new Ageas share for every 28.41 Direct Line shares. It had an implied value of 237p a share.

"The board considered the latest proposal with its advisers and continues to believe the latest proposal is uncertain, unattractive, and that it significantly undervalues Direct Line Group and its future prospects while also being highly opportunistic in nature," it said at the time.