Respondents to our web poll last week gave the thumbs up to Prudential's decision to call off its acquisition of AIA. Most said the $35.5 billion asking price was too high and a small number simply disagreed with the strategy, but more than one-third of voters wanted to see the deal go ahead.
Some of the Pru's biggest shareholders openly objected to the deal, but, as our poll reflects, there was also a good amount of support for the deal. Much of the criticism of the strategy has focused on regulatory hurdles in China and India, but some analysts say this ignores the huge potential of AIA's businesses in Southeast Asia.
In the...
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