Phoenix 'rejects £400m bids for Ignis'

Ignis Asset Management parent Phoenix Group has rejected a number of takeover approaches to buy the fund management business, according to reports.

The approaches were made as recently as the end of last year, but Phoenix told bidders the business was not for sale, Sky News has claimed. Those bids reportedly valued the fund management business at £400m. Aberdeen Asset Management had also indicated an interest earlier in 2012, although it is thought that bid is no longer "live", according to Sky. The news broadcaster added life assurance consolidator Phoenix is itself in the middle of "important refinancing talks with lenders" ahead of the maturity of a large chunk of its £2.5bn debt pile next year. Phoenix's most recent acc...