FTSE 100-listed insurer Hiscox’s shares leap amid report of takeover bid

Shares in Hiscox surged to record highs on Friday as it became the latest UK takeover target after a flurry of overseas bids for British businesses this week. Canada’s Intact Financial Corp, which provides property and casualty insurance, is said to be exploring a potential takeover of Lloyd’s of London insurer Hiscox, according to a report by the Insurance Post. Acquiring the London-listed insurer would help build Intact’s commercial lines of business, the Post said, noting that Intact’s chief executive has been looking for a large takeover target and is known to be a “fan” of Hiscox. The news sent Hiscox’s shares up as much as 15.3% on Friday to an all-time high of £18.90 a share. Hiscox did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It makes Hiscox the latest London takeover target, amid a boom in foreign interest in UK-listed companies linked in part to cheaper valuations. On Thursday, the ingredients business Tate & Lyle confirmed it had received a £2.7bn takeover offer from its US rival Ingredion, sending the FTSE 250 company’s shares up by 45%. If accepted, it would mark a big geographic shift for the company, which traces its roots to a sugar refiner on Liverpool docks in 1859. However, the company already sold off its sugar arm– now known as Tate & Lyle Sugars – to American Sugar Refining for £211m in 2010, while the rest of the business stayed listed on the London stock market. …