Prudential - the financial outfit with a majority stake in UK internet bank Egg - has completed a strategic about-turn by announcing plans to acquire the remaining slice of the business owned by shareholders.

The Pru owns all but 21.7 per cent of Egg, and now wants the lot in a deal that would value the e-business at a shade under £1bn.

In October, though, the Pru's new boss Mark Tucker announced plans to hang onto its stake in the business. Now he wants the lot because of "substantial opportunities" in the UK's financial services market.

By folding Egg into Pru's existing UK business the firms reckons it can attract new punters and generate savings of £40m by 2007.

Said Egg chief exec Paul Gratton: "There are considerable opportunities to grow Egg's revenues and profits within the Prudential Group, which will give us access to nearly 2.8 million additional marketable customers."

By mid morning shares in Egg were up 13.83p (13.5 per cent) at 116.33p.

Related stories

• OFT mulls Egg probe (11 February 2008)
• Capita ties up Prudential deal (28 November 2007)
• Citigroup lays loss-making Egg (29 January 2007)
• Pru to hang on to Egg stake (12 October 2005)
• Egg soldiers on (27 July 2005)
• MBNA 'eyes Egg' (6 June 2005)
• Egg shuffles top brass (27 April 2005)
• Egg losses grow (23 February 2005)
• Egg finally flees France (22 October 2004)
• Egg losses soar on France debacle (19 October 2004)
• Pru pulls out of great Egg race (3 August 2004)
• Egg still hasn't got a buyer (22 July 2004)
• Egg flees France (13 July 2004)
• Egg attracts interest from Capital One (28 June 2004)