Regulated information - Ageas announces share buy-back programme
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
Ageas announces today that, based on shareholder authorisation granted at the
end of April 2012, it has decided to initiate a share buy-back programme of its
outstanding common stock for a maximum amount of up to EUR 200 million.[1]
Recently Ageas and ABN AMRO reached a settlement, amongst others to compensate
Ageas for the 106.7 million shares it issued in December 2010 for the conversion
of the Mandatory Convertible Securities, which were recorded as a liability on
ABN AMRO's balance sheet. At the time, ABN AMRO did not compensate Ageas for
this share-issuance and Ageas's shareholders therefore suffered dilution. Now
that an indemnity has been paid, Ageas has decided to launch a share buy-back
programme of maximum EUR 200 million to mitigate this dilution.
Ageas will launch the share buy-back programme as of 13 August 2012 for a period
ending on 19 February 2013 at the latest.
This programme will be implemented in accordance with industry best practices
and in compliance with the applicable buy-back rules and regulations. To this
end, Ageas has mandated an independent broker to execute the programme through
open market purchases on its behalf on NYSE Euronext Brussels.
The bought back shares will be held as treasury shares until such time a
decision to cancel these securities is formally approved by the shareholders.
After completion of the share buy-back programme and assuming all other elements
remain constant, the net cash position will amount to EUR 1.3 billion. The share
buy-back will not affect the solvency position of the insurance operations for
which Ageas reported a ratio of 211% under IFRS at 30 June 2012.
Ageas will keep the market fully informed of the progress of this transaction in
line with applicable regulations.
Bart De Smet, CEO of Ageas, said: " In light of the recently agreed settlement
with ABN AMRO and taking into account our strong liquidity position and the
strong solvency position of the insurance operations, this is an opportune
moment to implement a share buy-back. At the same time we maintain our
flexibility to invest in the continued growth of our insurance business."
Ageas is an international insurance company with a heritage spanning more than
180 years. Ranked among the top 20 insurance companies in Europe, Ageas has
chosen to concentrate its business activities in Europe and Asia, which together
make up the largest share of the global insurance market. These are grouped
around four segments: Belgium, United Kingdom, Continental Europe and Asia and
served through a combination of wholly owned subsidiaries and partnerships with
strong financial institutions and key distributors around the world. Ageas
operates successful partnerships in Belgium, UK, Luxembourg, Italy, Portugal,
Turkey, China, Malaysia, India and Thailand and has subsidiaries in France, Hong
Kong and UK. It is the market leader in Belgium for individual life and employee
benefits, as well as a leading non-life player, through AG Insurance, and in the
UK, it has a strong presence as the fourth largest player in private car
insurance and the over 50's market. It employs more than 13,000 people and has
annual inflows of more than EUR 17 billion.
MEDIA CONTACT
+32 (0)2 557 57 37 / +32 (0) 479 79 50 02
INVESTOR RELATIONS
Brussels
+32 (0)2 557 57 33
Utrecht
+31 (0)30 252 53 05
Ageas
Rue du Marquis 1 - 1000 Brussels - Belgium
Archimedeslaan 6 - 3584 BA Utrecht - The Netherlands
www.ageas.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Currently, Ageas owns approximately 1.7% of its own shares (mainly shares
related to the Floating Rate Equity-linked Subordinated Hybrids (FRESH)). The
maximum buy-back of 10% of issued share capital authorized by the shareholders
will not be exceeded.
Pdf version press release:
http://hugin.info/134212/R/1631954/523330.pdf
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(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and
other applicable laws; and
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and
originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Ageas via Thomson Reuters ONE
[HUG#1631954]
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 06.08.2012 - 07:02 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 171700
Anzahl Zeichen: 4973
contact information:
Town:
1000 Brussels
Kategorie:
Business News
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