RUTH SUNDERLAND: US predator's plot to buy Aviva shares on the cheap cynically exploits human nature

See more This is Money on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Updated: 02:44 EDT, 20 July 2026 When the Mail uncovered a thoroughly rotten deal being offered to thousands of private investors to buy their shares in insurance company Aviva for much less than they are worth, even our seasoned reporters were shocked at the sheer audacity.It’s also shocking that such a brazen bid to cheat private shareholders has been allowed to get this far.An obscure US arbitrage company called Litani is circling thousands of Aviva’s private shareholders, offering to buy their shares for a lot less than the market price in a ‘mini-tender’.It has produced an official-looking letter that mimics standard communications on share issues, takeover bids and the like.Litani is hoping to profit at shareholders’ expense by openly inviting them to sell shares at a rip-off price, of their own free will. The ruse depends on investors failing to realise they are being had. That could easily happen if they are elderly and vulnerable or unversed in stock market dealings. US predator Litani is offering to buy Aviva shares for less than market price in a 'mini-tender'Previous experience suggests people are fooled in mini-tenders. Litani made a similar offer to UK resident shareholders in Sun Life Financial, the Canadian insurer, in July 2024. More than 580 accepted and only one complained.Aviva has done its best to protect its private investors by going to court in an attempt to block a request from Litani to hand over the share register. The request was denied, despite the offer being extremely disadvantageous and so little being known about Litani.This is the first high-profile mini-tender aimed at shareholders of a UK-listed company, but if it is not stopped in its tracks it will not be the last. In the US, the Securities and Exchange Commission has repeatedly warned that mini-tenders are used to catch investors off-guard.Nikhil Rathi, boss of the regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, says it will ensure any communications to Aviva shareholders are fair and clear.The document Litani sent states plainly it is offering to buy shares at a very steep discount, so there is clarity, though in my view it is plainly unfair.Other steps could be taken to nip these mini-tenders in the bud. Parliament could amend the Companies Act to make deeply discounted mini-tenders illegal.The likes of Litani could be compelled to disclose information about themselves and their beneficial ownership before being granted access to share registers.Target companies could change their articles of association so that any tender offer, no matter how small, has to be put to a shareholder vote. Individual investors can take themselves out of the sights of predators by holding shares through nominee accounts, which removes them from the register. There is something very old-fashioned about this trickery in an age of highly sophisticated AI, where investors are deceived by deep-fakes and bots.Increasingly, however, scams target the susceptibilities of human nature rather than technology.Predators are exploiting our psychology through social engineering. Vulnerable people are manipulated into ‘voluntarily’ carrying out self-harming transactions.Regulators and government need to take into account the human psychology involved when predators meet prey.As the UK population ages, millions more of us will suffer some degree of cognitive decline, and this kind of problem will mushroom if it is left unaddressed.Doing nothing should not be an option: it would be a disgrace if the regulator and government simply stood by while investors in one of this country’s household-name businesses are shamelessly fleeced.DIY INVESTING PLATFORMSAJ BellAJ BellEasy investing and ready-made portfoliosHargreaves LansdownHargreaves LansdownFree fund dealing and investment ideasinteractive investorinteractive investorFlat-fee investing from £4.99 per monthFreetradeFreetradeInvesting Isa now free on basic planTrading 212Trading 212Free share dealing and no account feeAffiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence.Compare the best investing account for you