Amanda Blanc is determined to steer Aviva Plc to one of the biggest takeovers in its history, a highlight in a storied insurance career where she’s stood up to challenges including activist shareholders and sexist barbs.
If her £3.6 billion ($4.6 billion) plan to combine Aviva with Direct Line Insurance Group Plc that was announced on Friday goes through, it’ll be her largest acquisition on record and the highlight of more than four years of work to transform the insurer — while handing Aviva a rival company run by one of her former lieutenants.
Blanc, one of the City of Lo