Shares in for-sale F&C Asset Management plunged 28.2% yesterday after a major investor ditched a fifth of the company�s shares.

Shares in for-sale F&C Asset Management plunged 28.2% yesterday after a major investor ditched a fifth of the company's shares.

Stock in the fund manager, which is majority-owned by Friends Provident, fell by 38.25p to 97.5p, a record low close.

Icelandic bank Kaupthing placed 95 million F&C shares at 100p a share, a transaction it is thought to have undertaken on behalf of investment firm Dawnay, Day. This was 26% below Wednesday's closing price of 135.75p.

It sold other shares the day before at between 135.75p and 139.75p, according to a statement to the stock exchange.

Some observers took the sale as a sign that investors are impatient for the company's future to be determined.

Dawnay, Day upped its stake when Friends Provident said in January it wanted to offload its stake to focus on its core life insurance business.

But there have been no signs of progress amid worries that the insurer's position has been weakened by the perception it is a forced seller and worries that potential buyers, such as private equity firms, would struggle to find funding.

Dutch financial services group Eureko remains a major shareholder, with an 11% stake.