Cowdery takes a second look at Friends Provident

By Victoria Howley

LONDON (Reuters) - Clive Cowdery is known as the man who makes the normally staid and impenetrable world of British life insurance look adventurous.

Two years after leaving would-be merger partner Friends Provident out in the cold, the former insurance broker turned zombie fund entrepreneur has returned with an audacious bid for the smallest of Britain's blue-chip insurers.

Friends Provident has rebuffed the new approach, saying the terms are inadequate, Cowdery's investment vehicle Resolution is opaque and a tie-up would hobble its management.

But Cowdery, 45, has a reputation as a determined negotiator and people who know him say he is unlikely to drop Friends Provident without a fight.

"Cowdery is tenacious and very determined. He is in the business of acquisitions and the investors that have backed him buy into his track record," said an insurance executive who had worked with Cowdery in the past.

Cowdery's backers include some of the U.K.'s top fund managers. Standard Life, Legal & General, Scottish Widows and M&G Investments all participated in Resolution's 600 million pound listing in December, a deal that ended several months of drought in London's primary market.

He is bidding for Friends Provident through listed acquisition vehicle Resolution. His previous business, Resolution, was sold for almost 5 billion pounds in 2008, yielding bumper returns for investors.

"Clive got quite a following after selling Resolution. The City has been waiting for him to unveil his next target," the insurance executive added.