PRESS DIGEST - British business - July 13

The Times

COWDERY TO LOOK PAST FRIENDS PROVIDENT BOARD AND TAKE 1.7 BILLION POUNDS BID TO SHAREHOLDERS

Insurance tycoon Clive Cowdery is considering evading the board of Friends Provident FP.L, the life and pensions group, taking his 1.7 billion pounds offer directly to shareholders. The move comes as Britain's fourth-biggest life insurer is expected to confirm on Monday that it has rejected an all-shares offer from Resolution (RSL.L), Cowdery's financial services consolidator. Despite the setback, Resolution is believed to be keen on a deal which would help Cowdery complete a grand plan of creating a super-sized insurer. In a separate statement on Monday, Resolution, which floated in December, is expected to reveal that it has lodged an expression of "preliminary interest" for Friends.

HENDERSON EAGER TO PURSUE FRESH ACQUISITIONS AND ADD MANAGERS

Henderson Group (HGGH.L) is set to announce plans to pursue a new round of acquisitions as it seeks to take advantage of "a period of unprecedented change". Two months after it completed a 115 million pounds takeover of New Star, the FTSE 250 fund manager is likely to tell investors this week that it is eager to explore international joint ventures and may hire additional fund managers to join its 840-strong workforce worldwide. Chief executive Andrew Formica said: "The opportunity for independent asset managers to expand their businesses, both geographically and along product lines, has never been greater." The company, which manages around 53 billion pounds of assets, will publish its results for the first six months of the year on Thursday.

CENTRICA DEAL TALKS

UK energy giant Centrica (CNA.L) (CNA.L) will meet Venture Production (VPC.L) shareholders this week in an attempt to secure support for its 1.3 billion pounds bid for the North Sea gas producer. The board of Venture has rejected the 845 pence-per-share offer, saying that the bid, which the British Gas owner is refusing to negotiate, undervalued the business and was opportunistic. Sam Laidlaw, the chief executive of Centrica, is confident this week's talks will convince Venture investors to back the deal.

The Daily Telegraph

EXPANDING RENTOKIL IS ON THE SCENT FOR MORE DESERT RATS