Former MD set for takeover
The £300m buyout of Cox, led by former managing director Neil Utley, has been accepted by the insurer's board today.
And Utley has revealed plans to take the company private.
The offer of 92p in cash for each Cox share values the existing issued share capital of Cox at around £297.9m.
Utley said: “Cox is a business with which I have been proud to be associated for a number of years. It has an excellent reputation in the market place and I believe that, as a private company unencumbered by the costs and distractions of public listing, Cox will be better able to face future challenges and to develop and grow its underlying business.
Peter Owen, chairman of Cox, and Andrew Fisher, group chief executive of Cox, said: “We are pleased with this outcome. Cox staff and management have worked hard to build a stable foundation for the company's development and this is reflected in the price achieved for shareholders.”
