From: "Stephen Burke" 
Newsgroups: uk.finance
Subject: Re: standard life to demutualise - what will policy holders get (windfall size) ?
Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2004 13:26:01 +0100

"Ian"  wrote in message
news:c4fl29$8j6$1@newsg1.svr.pol.co.uk...
> According to the BBC - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3585255.stm
> they CAN offer a sum. Scottish Widows did this. They did NOT offer shares
> as they were taken over. Please get your facts right!

Scottish Widows was taken over by Lloyds, and the latter paid the cash. SL
could estimate a likely minimum price for the shares and base a cash payment
on that, but it's probably more likely that they would distribute shares
with an option to have them sold, on the basis that people who retain a
shareholding are more likely to stay loyal to the company in future. Also if
fewer shares are sold at the time of flotation the achieved price will
probably be higher - when e.g. Halifax floated there was a shortage of
shares which tended to squeeze the price up.

-- 
Stephen Burke