Aegon will repurchase common shares for an amount of EUR 133 million to neutralize the dilutive effect of the 2022 interim dividend paid in shares. These shares will be held as treasury shares and will be used to pay future stock dividends in shares.
Shareholders were given the opportunity to choose between receiving the 2022 interim dividend of EUR 0.11 per common share in cash or in shares. The stock dividend and the cash dividend are approximately equal in value.
60% of shareholders elected to receive the final dividend in shares. Those who elected stock dividend received one Aegon common share for every 42 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 8 up to and including September 14, 2022. The average share price calculated on this basis amounted to EUR 4.61. The dividend was paid on September 21, 2022.
The repurchase of shares will commence on October 3, 2022, and is expected to be completed on or before December 15, 2022. The transaction will amount to EUR 133 million. Aegon will engage a third party to execute the transaction 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.
This program is in addition to the existing EUR 300 million share buyback that was announced on March 23, 2022, of which the third tranche of EUR 100 million will commence on October 3, 2022, and is expected to be completed on or before December 15, 2022, barring unforeseen circumstances. Weekly updates regarding all the share buyback transactions are available on aegon.com.