Pru bosses defiant after $35.5bn deal fails

Prudential's top bosses have defied calls to quit over the collapse of its $35.5bn (£24.3bn) bid for US insurance giant AIG's Asian arm.

Chairman Harvey McGrath said that the board was "completely behind" the current management including new chief executive Tidjane Thiam.

He also called investors calling for change "outliers", with most major shareholders backing the current board.

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The bid for AIA foundered this week after AIG refused to renegotiate the price – leaving the Pru with a 450m bill and Mr Thiam's Asian strategy in ruins.

But the board has so far refused to apologise for the huge bill and is set to face criticism from shareholders at its annual meeting in London on Monday.

Mr McGrath said the management team was "quite devastated" when AIG rejected the lower price, but "not worried at all about our positions".

The AIA deal – which Prudential intended to fund through a record 14.5bn cash call on shareholders – was dogged by regulatory concerns over the capital position of the enlarged group last month.

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Mr Thiam said in an interview with Bloomberg that he does not feel under pressure from shareholders to quit. "I am the servant of the shareholders. If my shareholders want me to go, then of course I would. They have not expressed that desire."

The Pru chief added: "We gave it our best and I'm proud of what the team did, but yes there were mistakes."

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