AEGON to Repay EUR 1 Billion to Dutch State
October 29 2009 - 3:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
THE HAGUE, The Netherlands, October 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
AEGON has notified the Dutch State and Vereniging AEGON that it
will exercise its option to repay one third of the EUR 3 billion in
core capital the company secured last year through its largest
shareholder, Vereniging AEGON and funded by the Dutch State. AEGON
first announced its intention to repay the Dutch State in August
when it raised EUR 1 billion in a successful equity issue. The
amount will be repaid on November 30, 2009 including accrued
interest from May 22, 2009 in accordance with the terms of AEGON's
agreement with the Dutch State. The Dutch Central Bank has given
its consent for the repayment. "It continues to be our intention to
fully repay the Dutch State at the earliest opportunity - and this
is a first step toward doing so," said Alex Wynaendts, AEGON's CEO.
"AEGON's strong excess capital position and the improved economic
outlook support our decision to fully exercise the option of early
repayment". Under the terms of AEGON's agreement with the Dutch
State, the premium for repayment amounts to a maximum of 13%
depending on the volume weighted average share price of AEGON
shares on the five trading days from November 23 until November 27.
About AEGON As an international life insurance, pension and
investment company based in The Hague, AEGON has businesses in over
twenty markets in the Americas, Europe and Asia. AEGON companies
employ approximately 29,500 people and have over 40 million
customers across the globe. Full year Key figures - EUR Q2 2009
2008 Underlying earnings before tax 404 million 1.6 billion New
life sales 469 million 2.6 billion Gross deposits 6.8 billion 40.8
billion Revenue generating investments (end of period) 342 billion
332 billion Forward-looking statements The statements contained in
this press release that are not historical facts are
forward-looking statements as defined in the US Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The following are words that
identify such forward-looking statements: aim, believe, estimate,
target, intend, may, expect, anticipate, predict, project, counting
on, plan, continue, want, forecast, goal, should, would, is
confident, will, and similar expressions as they relate to our
company. These statements are not guarantees of future performance
and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult
to predict. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise
any forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place
undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which merely
reflect company expectations at the time of writing. Actual results
may differ materially from expectations conveyed in forward-looking
statements due to changes caused by various risks and
uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties include but are not
limited to the following: - Changes in general economic conditions,
particularly in the United States, the Netherlands and the United
Kingdom; - Changes in the performance of financial markets,
including emerging markets, such as with regard to: - The frequency
and severity of defaults by issuers in our fixed income investment
portfolios; and - The effects of corporate bankruptcies and/or
accounting restatements on the financial markets and the resulting
decline in the value of equity and debt securities we hold; - The
frequency and severity of insured loss events; - Changes affecting
mortality, morbidity and other factors that may impact the
profitability of our insurance products; - Changes affecting
interest rate levels and continuing low or rapidly changing
interest rate levels; - Changes affecting currency exchange rates,
in particular the EUR/USD and EUR/GBP exchange rates; - Increasing
levels of competition in the United States, the Netherlands, the
United Kingdom and emerging markets; - Changes in laws and
regulations, particularly those affecting our operations, the
products we sell, and the attractiveness of certain products to our
consumers; - Regulatory changes relating to the insurance industry
in the jurisdictions in which we operate; - Acts of God, acts of
terrorism, acts of war and pandemics; - Effects of deliberations of
the European Commission regarding the aid we received from the
Dutch State in December 2008; - Changes in the policies of central
banks and/or governments; - Litigation or regulatory action that
could require us to pay significant damages or change the way we do
business; - Customer responsiveness to both new products and
distribution channels; - Competitive, legal, regulatory, or tax
changes that affect the distribution cost of or demand for our
products; - Our failure to achieve anticipated levels of earnings
or operational efficiencies as well as other cost saving
initiatives; and - The impact our adoption of the International
Financial Reporting Standards may have on our reported financial
results and financial condition. Further details of potential risks
and uncertainties affecting the company are described in the
company's filings with Euronext Amsterdam and the US Securities and
Exchange Commission, including the Annual Report on Form 20-F.
These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this
document. Except as required by any applicable law or regulation,
the company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to
release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking
statements contained herein to reflect any change in the company's
expectations with regard thereto or any change in events,
conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
Contact information Media relations: Greg Tucker +31(0)70-344-8956
Investor relations: Gerbrand Nijman +31(0)70-344-8305
+1877-548-9668 - toll free USA only http://www.aegon.com/
DATASOURCE: AEGON N.V. CONTACT: Contact information: Media
relations: Greg Tucker, +31(0)70-344-8956, ; Investor relations:
Gerbrand Nijman, +31(0)70-344-8305, +1877-548-9668 - toll free USA
only,
Copyright