Beazley withdraws 350p Hardy offer

14th Dec 2010 07:13

Underwriter Beazley has dropped its bid for rival Hardy after a third offer was turned down flat.Beazley says it submitted a final proposal to the board of Hardy on Monday outlining a possible offer of up to 350p per share with some conditions."Hardy's advisers confirmed that the Hardy board would only be prepared to recommend a price substantially in excess of the final proposal and, as a result, Beazley today announces the withdrawal of its interest," its statement said.Beazley had originally approached Hardy with an offer of 300p and then raised it to 330p, but Hardy's board refused even to discuss these offers forcing Beazley to appeal to Hardy shareholders to put pressure on the directors.Last month, Hardy described Beazley's approach as opportunistic and "taking advantage of both the current market environment and recent, short-term circumstances specific to Hardy."