Should Aviva have mentioned the RSA approach?

The management of Aviva is this weekend under immense pressure from leading shareholders over the non-disclosure of an approach by RSA and a potential £5 billion offer for the company's general insurance business. Many believe that this highly sensitive piece of information should have been released into the public domain instead of being brought to the attention of the market by the financial press.

Even though many believe that the £5 billion offer for the general insurance business was very much on the "light side" it may well have offered a starting point for serious negotiations. Whether or not RSA comes back into the reckoning with an official offer or the two parties agree to further discussions remains to be seen but there is today immense pressure on the Aviva management. On the flipside of the coin you could also argue why RSA management did not disclose the approach (to Aviva) to its shareholders?

There is no doubt that many offers are made which can be ignored or immediately binned but an offer of around £5 billion must surely warrant some form of further discussion?

In defence, the Aviva management has reiterated its own stance with confirmation that the company intends to retain the general insurance business and grow it in the future.