Ageas, Deminor, Stichting FortisEffect, SICAF and VEB reach agreement aiming at settling all Fortis civil legacies
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
Today Ageas and the claimants' organisations, Deminor, Stichting FortisEffect,
Stichting Investor Claims Against Fortis (SICAF), and Dutch shareholder
Association VEB ("The Parties") announce a settlement proposal with respect to
all civil proceedings related to the former Fortis group for the events in 2007
and 2008 ("the Events"1). The Parties will request the Amsterdam Court of Appeal
to declare the settlement binding for all eligible Fortis shareholders in
accordance with the Dutch Act on Collective Settlement of Mass Claims (Wet
Collectieve Afwikkeling Massaschade, "WCAM"). This agreement will help all
parties draw a line under lengthy and complex legal proceedings marked by
uncertainties in terms of timing and outcome. For Ageas specifically, the
agreement will allow the company to regain its full strategic and financial
flexibility and to focus entirely on its Insurance business. To inform the
general public about the settlement a dedicated website FORsettlement.com has
been set up.
Following the Events in 2007 and 2008 related to Fortis, Ageas has been involved
in a series of legal proceedings in Belgium and the Netherlands in which it
faces a number of more or less similar claims for damages.
Today, Ageas agreed to pay a global amount of EUR 1,204 million to Eligible
Shareholders covered by the settlement without admitting any wrongdoing. An
"Eligible Shareholder" is any person who held Fortis Units(2) at any time
between 28 February 2007 Close of Business and 14 October 2008 Close of
Business.
Bart De Smet, CEO Ageas: "I'm very pleased that together with claimant
representatives we have been able to agree a fair and reasonable settlement for
those impacted by the Fortis events of 2007 and 2008. We hope that those who are
eligible under this settlement will be satisfied with the outcome and that it
will help Ageas, its stakeholders and all those involved to draw a line under
what has been an uncertain and difficult period for everyone. We strived to
fairly allocate the total settlement amount across all different types of
Eligible Shareholders.
For Ageas specifically, this is an important step forward, as the settlement
brings clarity around this long outstanding issue. As we look to the future,
this agreement will allow the company to regain its full strategic and financial
flexibility and to focus entirely on its Insurance business. For current and
future investors the settlement leads to a much more transparent valuation of
Ageas."
1. The events relate to among others acquisition of parts of ABN AMRO and
capital increase in September/October 2007, announcement of the solvency
plan in June 2008, divestment of the banking activities and Dutch insurance
activities in September/October 2008
2. Before the reverse stock split of 2012
Ageas is a listed international insurance Group with a heritage spanning 190
years. It offers Retail and Business customers Life and Non-Life insurance
products designed to suit their specific needs, today and tomorrow. As one of
Europe's larger insurance companies, Ageas concentrates its activities in Europe
and Asia, which together make up the major part of the global insurance market.
It operates successful insurance businesses in Belgium, the UK, Luxembourg,
France, Italy, Portugal, Turkey, China, Malaysia, India, Thailand, Vietnam and
the Philippines through a combination of wholly owned subsidiaries and long term
partnerships with strong financial institutions and key distributors.
Ageas ranks among the market leaders in the countries in which it operates. It
represents a staff force of over 40,000 people and reported annual inflows close
to EUR 30 billion in 2015 (all figures at 100%).
Disclaimer
As mentioned above, more detailed information will become available at the
moment of the filing of the settlement proposal. Final compensation amounts per
share will only be available as soon as the claims submission period has ended
(1 year after the notification of the binding declaration of the Amsterdam Court
of Appeal) and when the final amount of eligible shares per category is known
and final.
Pdf version of the press release:
http://hugin.info/134212/R/1993901/734150.pdf
This announcement is distributed by GlobeNewswire on behalf of
GlobeNewswire clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that:
(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 GlobeNewswire
[HUG#1993901]
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 14.03.2016 - 08:15 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 457097
Anzahl Zeichen: 5394
contact information:
Town:
Brussels
Kategorie:
Business News
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"Ageas, Deminor, Stichting FortisEffect, SICAF and VEB reach agreement aiming at settling all Fortis civil legacies"
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