US private equity firm JC Flowers said today it was considering making an offer for Britain's stricken Friends Provident insurer.
JC Flowers also said an entity that it advises had acquired a stake of around 2.7 per cent in Friends
Friends' shares jumped 5.6 per cent on the news, its biggest one-day rise since July 2007, to stand at 161 pence by 2pm, making it the biggest blue-chip gainer across Europe.
JC Flowers approached the Friends Provident board before Christmas calling for talks on an informal bid worth around 175 pence per share, a source said.
But Friends declined to enter talks then, partly over concerns that Flowers could not deliver a workable bid, the source added.
