Cowdery may move on Friends Provident

The FT understands a Friends Provident approach is on a short list of current opportunities for Cowdery, who last year sold Resolution plc to the Hugh Osmond-led Pearl for £4.98bn. Cowdery unsuccessfully tried to merge Resolution with Friends Provident before the Pearl takeover, and has since launched a new Resolution Limited vehicle. Friends Provident is currently undertaking a group wide restructure, which is expected to see the insurer offload its 52% F&C stake and Lombard unit. It is understood Cowdery is not yet certain how to undertake a Friends approach – but options include takin...