Old Mutual shouldn’t head north

A board recommendation for a takeover bid is often worth paying a little extra for. So should Old Mutual raise its hostile SKr47bn (E4.9bn) offer for Skandia, the Swedish insurer? The answer is no. If the South African insurer were to raise its offer now, it would risk paying more but still failing to win a unanimous board recommendation. After all, Old Mutual has recently lowered the acceptance hurdle for its offer to only 50% – and is likely to reach that goal. Skandia’s chief executive, Han...