JC Flowers has made a £3.5bn (US$6.9bn) cash offer for Friends Provident, and has also called for talks with its board.
However the life assurer, supported by its biggest shareholder, has said that the proposal, which comes in at 150 pence a share and includes the right to receive the final dividend of 5.3p, is too low and there is no basis for talks.
People familiar with the situation told the FT that they believe there is a reasonable probability that JC Flowers will walk away from the bid, possibly even before the April 30 “put up or shut up” deadline, if Friends continues to refuse to talk.