Responding to reports by analysts and in the media that parent company Friends Life has hired Goldman Sachs to find a buyer for FPI, Van Der Wielen told International Adviser that in the corporate world one thing he has learnt is that “you can never rule out any scenario”.
“We’ve always said as a responsible shareholder, we are not emotive about any one asset that is part of the Friends Life group. We’d always act responsibly for the benefit of both the shareholders and policy holders, so no, you can never rule anything out.”
Van Der Wielen said the company never commented on any M&A speculation but that he did know the majority of the speculation related to the sale of Lombard and several analysts wrote in their reports that selling FPI would be a good next step.
“We know where the speculation comes from. It’s been continued over the last three years and I won’t add any further comment,” he said.
He added that his personal commitment was to step back into the business full time as the executive chairman because “I want to finish off the job I started three years ago and I’ve made a personal commitment to the market and our staff that regardless of what the next phase is, I’ll be a committed part of the Friends Provident International business”.
