, the new vehicle of insurance entrepreneur Clive Cowdery, confirmed plans to raise £1bn in a share float next month to spend on struggling life assurance and asset management businesses with restructuring potential.
The company, which shares its name with Cowdery's last venture, is initially proposing to place shares with institutions supportive of its restructuring goals to raise in excess of £500m but not more than £1bn.
Resolution's strategy is to make acquisitions with a view to restructuring the businesses, improving their cost, performance and capital efficiencies before selling them on to realise value for its shareholders.
Chief executive of Resolution Operations John Tiner, the former boss of the Financial Service Authority, said the group will only make acquisitions where it considers them capable of generating percentage return in the mid-teens.
Tiner refused to name specific targets but there has been talk that the group is eying the asset management arm of , fund manager or life-insurer . Cowdry already tried to acquire Friends through his first Resolution vehicle, before it was sold to Hugh Osmond's for £5bn earlier this year.
The executive team, including HBOS' former finance director Phil Hodkinson and the former chief executive of Resolution plc Mike Biggs, will put up to £20m of their own money into the company.
"We see significant investment opportunities from restructuring in financial services and have been pleased with the support for our business strategy and structure indicated to us by former investors in Resolution plc," said chairman Mike Biggs.
"We expect to form a strong investor base to support our future growth through this placing," Biggs added.
Cowdery, who first confirmed his intention to list a new Resolution vehicle in September, said at the time that Prudential, Standard Life, Royal London Asset Management and other large, publicly invested companies have already discussed investing in Resolution.
