Edinburgh-based Standard Life yesterday offered £4.9 billion ($10 billion) to buy Resolution, topping a rival bid by the Pearl Group for the UK's largest manager of closed life-insurance funds. Both Standard Life and Pearl are attempting to break Resolution's 25 July agreement to purchase Friends Provident for £3.8 billion. Standard Life, the UK's fifth-biggest insurer, wants Resolution's asset-management and protection units. It said it plans to sell assets, including life-insurance and administration units of Resolution, for cash to Zurich-based Swiss Re. Peterborough-based Pearl has built a 16.5 per cent stake in the company since July. It said the stock component of Standard Life's bid makes it more questionable than Pearl's all-cash offer. Meanwhile, Standard Life's European manager Stuart Fraser has left the firm. The group has handed his European Equity Growth vehicle to Jaime Ramos-Martin, who will now manage it permanently. Last month Standard Life also launched a European Equity Ethical fund for Fraser to run. In the interim, this will come under head of European equities Stan Pearson.