Haste could land chief exec or chairman role if bid is successful
Former RSA Group chief executive Andy Haste is leading a private equity consortium studying a possible bid for Direct Line Group, according to reports.
Haste has teamed up with private equity firms Blackstone, Bain and Advent, The Telegraph reported.
The plans are at an early stage but a successful bid of between £2.5bn and £3.5bn could see Haste installed as Direct Line Group’s chief executive or chairman, sources told the paper.
Haste has been strongly linked with the vacant chief executive’s role at Aviva since Andrew Moss’s departure. But has indicated to friends that he was not interested.
Private equity groups have been circling the RBS-owned business for some time.
The bank has always favoured a flotation as its preferred option for offloading its insurance arm and has targeted a September listing, subject to market conditions.
RBS has appointed 11 investment banks to handle the disposal, led by Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and UBS alongside others including Bank of America Merrill Lynch, HSBC and Investec.
RBS Group declined to comment.
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