Aegon will repurchase 24,133,950 common shares to neutralize the dilutive effect of the 2018 interim stock dividend. These shares will be held as treasury shares and will be used to pay future stock dividends.
Shareholders were given the opportunity to choose between receiving the 2018 interim dividend of EUR 0.14 per common share in cash or in stock. The stock dividend and the cash dividend are approximately equal in value.
44% of shareholders elected to receive the interim dividend in stock. Those who elected stock dividend will receive one Aegon common share for every 37 common shares held. The stock fraction is based on Aegon's average share price as quoted on Euronext Amsterdam, using the high and low of each of the five trading days from September 10 up to and including September 14, 2018. The average share price calculated on this basis amounted to EUR 5.1952. The dividend will be payable as of September 21, 2018.
The repurchase of shares will commence on October 1, 2018, and is expected to be completed on or before November 9, 2018. Aegon will engage a third party to execute the transactions on its behalf. The common shares will be repurchased at a maximum of the average of the daily volume-weighted average prices during the repurchase period.
Weekly updates regarding the transactions will be available on aegon.com.