Direct Line’s apparent rejection of the 233p per share offer from Belgian group Ageas is a surprise, suggest analysts at Deutsche Bank, though they suspect a better offer is currently being drawn up.
At the price, the bid was a 43% premium to the previous night’s close and implied a value of £3.1 billion.
“We are not surprised that there could be interest - it has been mulled as a target, notwithstanding wider consolidation in the UK P&C space,” said the bank.
“We value the shares at 250p, and even without a takeover bid, we like the shares on a 12-month view. Buy.”