Phoenix Group, the closed life funds bid vehicle backed by Hugh Osmond, could start an acquisitions drive as soon as next year after securing a £1bn main London listing next month.
Jonathan Moss, chief executive, told The Times that Phoenix would target life funds that had been shut and put into run-off, predominantly in Britain.
He said that acquisitions were “definitely a 2011 event” for Phoenix.
Phoenix’s plans to gain a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange mark the culmination of a long restructuring of the group, which is part-backed by Osmond’s Sun Capital and the private equity company TDR.
Until an agreement sealed yesterday, Sun Capital and TDR owned about £200 million of “contingent rights”, which meant that as investors they could receive shares if Phoenix’s price hit a pre-set level.
Phoenix, which is not raising new capital at the listing, hopes that its simplified structure will help the company to be rerated by investors and the conversion of the rights into equity. Over time, it hopes to achieve a valuation of about £2bn. From next month, it is likely to sit near the top of the FTSE 250.
The Times, p64; Financial Times, p14