EDITORIAL: Old Mutual’s new future
The break-up of Old Mutual may well make a good business school case study in the future, but first, the group has to complete it. And the clock is ticking
There cannot be too many companies that have undertaken a process as complex as Old Mutual’s "managed separation". Demerging companies or unbundling a company from its parent to put it directly into the hands of shareholders are common enough transactions. But in the case of London-listed Old Mutual, it is breaking up a group that has been assembled in a series of transactions over the past 18 years, selling some pieces, unbundling others and, crucially, creating standalone businesses out of two key divisions that will be spun off into listed companies held directly by the group’s shareholders. And it is doing all this across borders and in a large number of jurisdictions where it will require the consent of regulators as well as support from shareholders and other funders. The break-up of Old Mutual may well make a good business school case study in the future, but first, the group has to complete it. And the clock is ticking: it has undertaken to "materially complete" the process ...
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