Direct Line Rejects Revised Indicative Proposal From Ageas

Direct Line announced on March 13 that it received a revised and highly conditional indicative proposal from Ageas on March 9. This second bid raised the cash component from GBP 1.0 per share to GBP 1.2 per share, but lowered the stock component by increasing the Direct Line/Ageas share conversion rate from 25.24047 to 28.41107. This means the value of the stock component has been lowered from GBP 1.760 billion to GBP 1.536 billion. The total value of the offer has been marginally raised from GBP 3.079 billion to GBP 3.118 billion, or GBP 2.36 per share, an increase of 1.3%.