New corporate name for M&G Prudential at demerger

New corporate name for M&G Prudential at demerger

John Foley

M&G Prudential has today announced its intention to list its shares under the name M&G plc when it demerges from Prudential plc later this year.

As an independent company, M&G plc will have a single corporate identity and will continue with two customer-facing brands:

    • Prudential for savings and insurance customers in the UK and Europe and for asset management in South Africa
    • M&G Investments for asset management clients globally

John Foley, chief executive of M&G Prudential, said: “We are in the fortunate position of having two strong brands, each with a rich heritage. But as an international business operating in 28 markets, we need a single corporate name we can use globally.  So to distinguish ourselves in the global market, we have decided to list our shares on the London Stock Exchange as M&G plc, which we expect to take place in the fourth quarter of this year.



“Prudential will remain our operating brand for the 5 million customers who have insurance and savings products with us in the UK, Europe and South Africa. We will continue to invest in its development as we seek to improve our digital offering.

“M&G Investments is already a global brand and we will continue to use this name to market our asset management capabilities to wholesale and institutional clients across Europe and in Asia, Australia and North America.”

Details of the new M&G plc corporate identity will be announced closer to the time of the listing. In the meantime, the business will continue to use M&G Prudential as its corporate name.

The announcement came as Prudential posted a 14 per cent rise in half year operating profit, driven by growth in its Asian business.

Group operating profit from continuing operations, excluding its M&G Prudential unit, was 2.02 billion pounds.

Alasdair Ronald of Brewin Dolphin said: “Prudential’s 14 per cent rise in operating profit was ahead of analysts’ expectations and the 5 per cent increase in the dividend will be well received by the market. However, the main focus for the company is the de-merger of M&GPrudential. The proposal is largely seen as a positive move and will likely narrow the discount between Prudential’s share price and the sum-of-its-parts valuation. After this process, Prudential will be almost entirely focused on the US and Asia – in the former it is a leading variable annuity provider, while the latter is its key growth engine. That said, future growth in Asia will be dependent on the continued rise of the continent’s emerging middle class and the low level of welfare provision in a number of countries.”

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