L&G launches bid for Cofunds

14 November 2011 8:15 am | By Rob Langston

Legal & General has launched a bid to acquire Cofunds, according to reports, as it seeks to bolster its distribution capability.

The Sunday Telegraph reports that L&G’s head of savings Mark Gregory has written Cofunds chief Charlie Eppinger, expressing an interest in acquiring the platform.

The newspaper also reports that private equity firm Bridgepoint is interested in the company and had enlisted the help of Towry law founder Douglas Black.

L&G owns a 25 per cent stake in the platform, while IFDS, Threadneedle, Newhouse Capital Partners and Jupiter all own significant stakes.

In September last year, L&G hired former Standard Life Savings chief executive Geoff Towers (pictured) to lead its work on platforms. Towers previously worked on the Standard Life wrap. In an interview with Money Marketing, Towers refused to rule out making a bid for Cofunds or launching its own platform.

In March this year, L&G ditched its exclusivity deal with Cofunds for the distribution of its bond and pension wrappers, which had been in place since 2005.

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