BC-EU--Britain-Earns-Prudential,0139

Prudential trims botched AIA bid cost

LONDON (AP) -- Prudential PLC says it has cut the cost of its failed takeover bid for AIG Inc.'s Asian unit as it reported a strong half-year profit.

Prudential said Thursday that the cost of the botched attempt to buy AIA has been trimmed to 377 million pounds ($590 million), from an initial estimate of 450 million pounds, thanks to lower advisory fees and currency fluctuations.

The company made a net profit of 812 million pounds in the first six months of 2010, compared with 15 million pounds a year ago, partly due to new business sales in Asia.

Prudential had faced the ire of investors over its handling of the AIA bid -- the company tried to lower its $35.5 billion offer price after shareholder opposition but AIA held out, forcing Prudential to walk away in June.