UK insurers secure [pounds sterling]835m from rights issues.

Financial News, October, 2002

Byline: Yasmine Chinwala

Legal & General (L&G) and Hiscox, both UK insurance firms, benefited from heading the queue of insurers' capital calls to raise pound sterling835m ([euro]1.32bn) from rights issues this week.L&G raised pound sterling762m in a deal that was fully underwritten by UBS Warburg and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, earning the banks fees of 2%. There was as 95% takeup of the share offer of 13 new shares at 60p for every 50 existing shares held.

A banker close to the deal said: "Ninety five percent takeup in six weeks of very difficult markets is a big vote of confidence in the L&G and its management. The initial reception at the time of the announcement was good, and the deal benefited from being first off the block."

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