Ageas share and FRESH capital securities expected to be temporarily suspended today in connection with a court decision relating to the FRESH
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
Ageas and Ageasfinlux will request that the trading in the Ageas share (ISIN
BE0003801181) on Euronext Brussels, Euronext Amsterdam and the Luxembourg Stock
Exchange, and the trading in the FRESH security (ISIN XS0147484074 and
XS0147484314 (144A)) on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange be temporarily suspended
today upon receipt of a decision of the Commercial Court of Brussels relating to
the FRESH capital securities. The suspension will be lifted after the
publication of a press release on the conclusions of the judgment.
Floating Rate Equity-linked Subordinated Hybrid ("FRESH") are undated capital
securities with a denomination of EUR 250,000 per security and issued for a
total nominal amount of EUR 1.250 billion. They were issued in 2002
by Fortfinlux (now Ageasfinlux), a Luxembourg company, to improve the capital
position of the former Fortis group. The FRESH constitute mandatory
convertible obligations of Ageasfinlux, with ageas SA/NV and ageas N.V. as co-
obligors. Coupons on the FRESH are payable quarterly at a variable rate equal to
3-month EURIBOR plus 1.35%. To date, the FRESH securities have been treated
as non-innovative capital instruments for regulatory purposes, due to their
deeply subordinated characteristics and their mandatory conversion into Ageas
shares. The number of underlying shares amounts to 39,682,540. The FRESH have no
maturity date, but may be exchanged for Fortis (now Ageas) shares at a price of
EUR 31.50 per share at the discretion of the holder. The FRESH will
automatically be converted into Fortis (now Ageas) shares if the price of the
Fortis (now Ageas) share is equal to or higher than EUR 47.25 for 20 consecutive
stock exchange business days.
The Commercial Court of Brussels is expected to render a judgment today in a
case introduced by two Luxembourg funds, holders of FRESH securities, against
Ageasfinlux (previously Fortfinlux) and Ageas (previously Fortis), both co-
obligors of the issued FRESH. Among others, the Luxembourg funds demand that the
458 FRESH securities they hold be declared null and void and the reimbursement
of the nominal value of these securities(([1])).
The Ageas shares and the FRESH will be suspended concurrent with the judgment of
the Commercial Court of Brussels becoming available to the litigating parties.
The decision to temporarily suspend trading in the Ageas shares and the FRESH
will ensure a smooth and transparent communication to the market.
Ageas and Ageasfinlux will issue a further press release as soon as possible
once the decision of the Commercial Court of Brussels has been analysed. This
second press release will summarise the key elements of the court decision and,
to the extent possible, the main consequences this decision will have on the
companies.
The trading in Ageas shares and FRESH securities will resume shortly after the
publication of this second press release.
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. They are grouped
around four segments: Belgium, United Kingdom, Continental Europe and Asia. It
is an undisputed leader in the Belgian market for individual life and employee
benefits, as well as a leading non-life player, through AG Insurance.
Internationally Ageas has a strong presence in the UK, where it is the third
largest player in private car insurance. The company also has subsidiaries
in France, Germany and Hong Kong. Ageas has a track record in developing
partnerships with strong financial institutions and key distributors in
different markets around the world and successfully operates partnerships in
Luxembourg, Italy, Portugal, China, Malaysia, India and Thailand. Ageas employs
more than 11,000 people and has annual inflows of almost EUR 16 billion.
Ageasfinlux S.A. is a company with limited liability under Luxembourg law
established in Luxembourg and registered with the Register of Commerce and
Companies under number R.C.S. Luxembourg B-86976. Ageasfinlux SA was established
to obtain financing through the issuance of the FRESH Capital Securities. It has
no employees and no trading activities.
Ageas Ageasfinlux S.A.
Press contact 65 Boulevard Grande-Duchesse Charlotte
+32 (0)2 557 57 37 L-1331 Luxembourg
Investor Relations
Brussels
+32 (0)2 557 57 33
Utrecht
+31 (0)30 252 53 05
Rue du Marquis 1 - 1000 Brussels -
Belgium
Archimedeslaan 6 - 3584 BA Utrecht - The
Netherlands
www.ageas.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(([1])) Ageas has previously communicated on this case in its 2009 annual report
and in its consolidated Interim Financial Statements for the first half-year of
2010.
Pdf version of the press release:
http://hugin.info/134212/R/1487980/423477.pdf
This announcement is distributed by Thomson Reuters on behalf of
Thomson Reuters 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 Thomson Reuters ONE
[HUG#1487980]
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 11.02.2011 - 08:31 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 51368
Anzahl Zeichen: 6345
contact information:
Town:
Brussel
Kategorie:
Business News
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"Ageas share and FRESH capital securities expected to be temporarily suspended today in connection with a court decision relating to the FRESH"
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