Regulated information - Ageas announces a share buy-back programme of up to EUR 250 million
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
Ageas announces today that, based on a shareholders' authorization granted on
27 April 2011, it has decided to initiate a share buy-back programme of its
outstanding common stock for a maximum amount of up to EUR 250 million[1].
Ageas will launch the buy-back programme as of 24 August 2011 for a period
ending 23 February 2012.
This programme will be implemented in accordance with industry best practices
and in compliance with the applicable buyback 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 and Amsterdam.
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 discretionary capital will amount to EUR 0.75 billion. The
share buy-back will not affect the solvency position of the insurance operations
for which Ageas reported a ratio of 207% under IFRS at 30 June 2011.
Ageas will keep the market fully informed of the details of this transaction in
line with applicable regulations.
Bart De Smet, CEO of Ageas, said: "Today's announcement highlights our ongoing
focus on capital optimization and creating value for our shareholders. Given our
strong liquidity position, the robust solvency of our Insurance operations and
the undervaluation of our shares, we firmly believe this is an opportune time to
implement a share buy-back while still maintaining flexibility to invest in the
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,
Germany, 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 second largest player
in private car insurance and the over 50's market. It employs more than 13,000
people and has annual inflows of almost EUR 18 billion.
Press contact
+32 (0)2 557 57 37
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 1.5% of its own shares (mainly shares
related to the Floating Rate Equity-linked Subordinated Hybrids (FRESH)). After
the buyback, the amount of shares owned by Ageas will remain within the maximum
amount of 10% of issued share capital, authorized by the shareholders.
Pdf version press release:
http://hugin.info/134212/R/1540706/471112.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#1540706]
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 24.08.2011 - 07:36 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 58595
Anzahl Zeichen: 4455
contact information:
Town:
Brussel
Kategorie:
Business News
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