A bid for Royal & SunAlliance (R&SA) may still be made following interest from private equity groups.
Sources said a number of groups were looking at the insurer after Corvus Capital backed out of making a play for R&SA last week.
Corvus, led by Andrew Regan, was forced to drop its plans due to lack of cooperation from R&SA's board.
A statement from Corvus said: "Corvus... would only have intended to proceed with an offer for R&SA with the cooperation of existing management. This cooperation was not forthcoming."
Corvus was understood to view R&SA as being undervalued, its £2.4bn market capitalisation not reflecting its cash flows and valuation.
This has prompted speculation of other bidders in the wings.
A spokesman for R&SA said the company would not comment on market rumour.
