YouGov’s BrandIndex show the insurance giant Prudential’s scores slipping since its announcement that it intends to acquire the Asian life insurance firm, AIA.
BrandIndex has witnessed a dramatic drop in Prudential’s buzz score, which is measured by taking those who have heard something positive about a brand in the last week and subtracting those who have heard something negative.
On 19th May, Prudential’s buzz score fell to -3.1 in a response to plans that the firm is hoping to raise $21bn needed for the acquisition in what has been named as the world’s largest rights issue. Since setting its sights on AIA, Prudential has found itself in the media spotlight for all the wrong reasons and its buzz score has mirrored these slip ups. Its score has sunk even further in recent days following the revelation that the banks underwriting the deal are in line to receive as much as $850million in fees. In addition, reports that the head of AIA, Mark Wilson, has threatened to resign if the acquisition takes place have resulted in Prudential’s buzz score dropping to a six month low of -3.4 yesterday.
