Aegon today announces the completion of the combination of its Dutch pension, life and non-life insurance, banking, and mortgage origination activities with a.s.r., and the beginning of its asset management partnership with a.s.r. As part of the transaction, Aegon received EUR 2.2 billion cash proceeds and a 29.99% stake in a.s.r.
“The completion of this transaction marks a major milestone in Aegon’s history and in our long-term ambition to create leaders in investments, protection, and retirement solutions”, said Lard Friese, CEO of Aegon. “The combination creates the number two insurance company in the Netherlands, with significant scale across different segments, benefiting all our stakeholders. I want to take this opportunity to thank all of the Aegon employees who will now move to a.s.r. for their significant contribution over the years. I wish them all every success for the future.”
The relationship agreement has been slightly amended so that two matters now require unanimous approval of a.s.r.’s Supervisory Board. These relate to CEO succession in case the current CEO of a.s.r. steps down before the end of his current term, and material decisions on capital management which would lead to a change in the risk profile. The rest of the relationship agreement, including affirmative votes on significant changes to a.s.r.’s dividend policy, certain dilutive transactions, and certain M&A transactions, remains unchanged.
The completion of the transaction will result in a significant increase of Aegon’s Cash Capital at the Holding. As previously indicated, Aegon expects to initiate a EUR 1.5 billion share buyback program over a 12-month period shortly.