Banks clamour for piece of Pru as shareholders protest - papers

The City’s leading investment banks are falling over themselves to get a slice of the $700m in fees on offer from Prudential’s record $21bn rights issue.

The three banks in charge of the deal, Credit Suisse, HSBC and JP Morgan Cazenove, were last night drawing up a list of 30 others to share some of the risks - and rewards.

Every British, European, American and Asian investment bank active in the equity markets is understood to have pitched to take part.

The final group of 30 sub-underwriters is likely to include heavyweights such as Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and Deutsche Bank. Full story...

MEANWHILE, THE Telegraph says leading shareholders in Prudential are threatening to vote against the insurer's acquisition of AIG's Asian business, AIA, in protest at the price.

At least two major institutions have raised concerns about the $35.5bn (£23.6bn) acquisition and are considering opposing the $21bn rights issue that will finance the bulk of the deal.

"Return on equity seems fairly far down their list of priorities. It looks like taking five or 10 years to deliver value to shareholders," said one. "Even if you believe in the long-term growth of Asia, that's difficult to swallow." Full story...