UPDATE: Prudential CFO: Most Holders Don't Seek Board Changes

30th Jun 2010 10:41

(Adds detail.) By Vladimir Guevarra Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--Prudential PLC (PRU.LN) Chairman Harvey McGrath and Chief Executive Officer Tidjane Thiam have the support of the company's board after the insurer's failed $35.5 billion bid for AIA Group Ltd., the Asian life insurance business of American International Group Inc. (AIG), Nic Nicandrou, Prudential's chief financial officer, said Wednesday. He said also that the majority of shareholders aren't asking for either of the two men to step down. Speaking at a London conference, Nicandrou said the board has confidence in McGrath and Thiam and that the company's focus is now on running a successful business. Since the cancellation of the offer for AIA, there have been persistent reports that some shareholders were privately asking for McGrath and Thiam to resign. "Our focus is on going back to running a very successful business," Nicandrou told Dow Jones Newswires on the sidelines of a Standard & Poor's insurance conference. "The board, as it has mentioned during the annual general meeting, has reconfirmed its confidence in the management team. The vast majority of our shareholders are not calling for change. So we go back to running a successful business," he said. Prudential's failure to buy AIA Group Ltd cost the company around GBP450 million. "People seem to have lost sight of the fact that last year was a record year for us. And as you've seen from the first five months of this year, we continue to be exceptionally strong. We're back to business as usual," Nicandrou said. -By Vladimir Guevarra, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0) 2078429486, [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 30, 2010 05:41 ET (09:41 GMT)