The company is mainly focused on providing car cover but is pushing into home insuranceHastings, the motor insurer, has agreed to accept a £1.66 billion cash offer from a consortium led by the Scandinavian insurance group Sampo. Hastings today recommended a 250p per share offer from Sampo and Rand Merchant Investment, the South African fund management firm that already owns 29 per cent of the business. Shares in Hastings raced 18 per cent higher to 252.8p this morning, a level which suggests traders think that there is no chance of a rival deal being flushed out. The company’s shareholders stand to be paid 254.5p after including a 4.5p interim dividend declared this morning. The offer is at a 47 per cent premium to the Hastings price on the day last week before details of the approach leaked out, forcing

Source: The Times August 05, 2020 11:03 UTC