Resolution fight will hot up - papers 7 November

James Pearce, of Cazenove, said that he expects the Scottish insurer and its partner Swiss Re will raise its 709p cash-and-shares bid to 766p a share or even higher. He added that rival predator Pearl Group, run by Hugh Osmond, is also likely to increase its 720p-a-share cash bid to 750p a share. "We expect both Standard Life and Pearl to raise their offers for Resolution," he wrote in a 17-page research note to clients. "We believe the market has underestimated both the strategic and financial logic of Standard Life's proposal, as well as the scope for Swiss Re to help them improve thei...