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But as the two companies' boards were meeting in the City, there was no sign yet as to how much Friends shareholders might receive in total.

Life insurer and pensions firm Friends Provident has come under attack from Resolution, a listed shell company set up by insurance entrepreneur Clive Cowdery to consolidate the industry.

Friends is the first target of Cowdery's latest vehicle and the offer has already erupted into a war of words. Not only is Resolution based in tax-dodging Guernsey but the takeover recipe put forward by Cowdery and his co-executive John Tiner, the former head of the Financial Services Authority is aimed at making them a fortune for themselves.

Friends, led by Trevor Matthews, hit back last Friday indicating that the company might actually counter attack and launch a bid for Resolution to take control of its £645 million cash pile — raised in a City placing last winter — and take on some of its management.

With this indicating that it is open to a deal, Friends chairman Sir Adrian Montague is today meeting Resolution's high command.

From that meeting it is expected Resolution will put a price on a deal for Friends shareholders to mull.

The offer would be mainly in Resolution paper but will include clauses to pay Friends shareholders cash for their first 2500 shares and commit to its dividend policy which is due to pay an interim 2.4p later this week.

Friends shares were trading at 60.4p before news of Resolution's plans broke earlier this month. Prior to that they had traded at an average of 61.3p since the turn of the year.

Insiders say it is unlikely Resolution will pay much of a premium for Friends shares because City investors who backed the creation of Resolution — including Prudential, Aviva, Scottish Widows and Schroders — are all significant shareholders in Friends.