Lloyd's of London insurer Beazley drops £180m Hardy bid

Lloyd's of London insurer Beazley said it has dropped a proposed £180m bid for rival Hardy Underwriting and is now considering returning cash to shareholders.

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Beazley, up 0.9p at 114.7p, withdrew after Hardy rebuffed its final offer of up to 350p a share, saying it would only consider a sum well above that level. Hardy closed down 9p at 273p.
Andrew Horton, Beazley's chief executive, said the company will look for bolt-on acquisitions in the US, on Lloyd's and in Europe. Broker Execution Noble said Hardy's management would come under pressure to deliver growth quickly after rebuffing the bid.

Hardy said it too would reward shareholders with a buy-back programme.



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