Aviva shares rallied on Tuesday after activist investor Cevian Capital said it had built a 4.95% stake in the insurer and called on it to return £5bn to shareholders next year.
At 0900 BST, the shares were up 3.3% at 424.40p.
Cevian managing partner and co-founder Christer Gardell said: “Aviva has been poorly managed for many years, and its high-quality core businesses have been held back by high costs and a series of bad strategic decisions.”
Nevertheless, the company “now has the potential to become a focused and well-capitalised market leader that produces profitable growth, generates significant cash, and is highly appreciated in the equity markets”, he added.
Cevian is now Aviva’s second-largest shareholder after BlackRock.
