Shareholders were given the opportunity to choose between receiving the 2015 interim
dividend of EUR 0.12 per common share in cash or in stock. 43% of shareholders elected to
receive the stock dividend. Those who elected for a stock dividend will receive one Aegon
common share for every 45 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 7 up to and including September 11, 2015. The average
share price calculated on this basis amounted to EUR 5.40. The stock dividend and the cash
dividend are approximately equal in value.
Aegon will repurchase 20,136,673 common shares to neutralize the dilutive effect of
the 2015 interim stock dividend. These shares will be held as treasury shares and will be
used to pay future stock dividends. Aegon is committed to the repurchase of the common
shares by engaging a third party to execute the transactions on its behalf. These
transactions will commence on September 16, 2015, and are expected to be completed on or
before October 14, 2015. The common shares will be repurchased at a maximum of the daily
volume-weighted average price. Aegon will provide weekly updates regarding the
transactions on aegon.com/sharebuyback [http://www.aegon.com/sharebuyback ].
DISCLAIMERS
Forward-looking statements
The statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are
forward-looking statements as defined in the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. The following are words that identify such forward-looking statements: aim,
believe, estimate, target, intend, may, expect, anticipate, predict, project, counting on,
plan, continue, want, forecast, goal, should, would, is confident, will, and similar
expressions as they relate to Aegon. These statements are not guarantees of future
performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to
predict. Aegon undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking
statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements, which merely reflect company expectations at the time of writing. Actual
results may differ materially from expectations conveyed in forward-looking statements due
to changes caused by various risks and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties include
but are not limited to the following:
<pre>
- Changes in general economic conditions, particularly in the United States, the
Netherlands and the United Kingdom;
- Changes in the performance of financial markets, including emerging markets, such as
with regard to:
- The frequency and severity of defaults by issuers in Aegon's fixed income investment
portfolios;
- The effects of corporate bankruptcies and/or accounting restatements on the financial
markets and the resulting decline in the value of equity and debt securities Aegon
holds; and
- The effects of declining creditworthiness of certain private sector securities and the
resulting decline in the value of sovereign exposure that Aegon holds;
- Changes in the performance of Aegon's investment portfolio and decline in ratings of
Aegon's counterparties;
- Consequences of a potential (partial) break-up of the euro;
- The frequency and severity of insured loss events;
- Changes affecting longevity, mortality, morbidity, persistence and other factors that
may impact the profitability of Aegon's insurance products;
- Reinsurers to whom Aegon has ceded significant underwriting risks may fail to meet
their obligations;
- Changes affecting interest rate levels and continuing low or rapidly changing interest
rate levels;
- Changes affecting currency exchange rates, in particular the EUR/USD and EUR/GBP
exchange rates;
- Changes in the availability of, and costs associated with, liquidity sources such as
bank and capital markets funding, as well as conditions in the credit markets in
general such as changes in borrower and counterparty creditworthiness;
- Increasing levels of competition in the United States, the Netherlands, the United
Kingdom and emerging markets;
- Changes in laws and regulations, particularly those affecting Aegon's operations,
ability to hire and retain key personnel, the products Aegon sells, and the
attractiveness of certain products to its consumers;
- Regulatory changes relating to the insurance industry in the jurisdictions in which
Aegon operates;
- Changes in customer behavior and public opinion in general related to, among other
things, the type of products also Aegon sells, including legal, regulatory or
commercial necessity to meet changing customer expectations;
- Acts of God, acts of terrorism, acts of war and pandemics;
- Changes in the policies of central banks and/or governments;
- Lowering of one or more of Aegon's debt ratings issued by recognized rating
organizations and the adverse impact such action may have on Aegon's ability to raise
capital and on its liquidity and financial condition;
- Lowering of one or more of insurer financial strength ratings of Aegon's insurance
subsidiaries and the adverse impact such action may have on the premium writings,
policy retention, profitability and liquidity of its insurance subsidiaries;
- The effect of the European Union's Solvency II requirements and other regulations in
other jurisdictions affecting the capital Aegon is required to maintain;
- Litigation or regulatory action that could require Aegon to pay significant damages or
change the way Aegon does business;
- As Aegon's operations support complex transactions and are highly dependent on the
proper functioning of information technology, a computer system failure or security
breach may disrupt Aegon's business, damage its reputation and adversely affect its
results of operations, financial condition and cash flows;
- Customer responsiveness to both new products and distribution channels;
- Competitive, legal, regulatory, or tax changes that affect profitability, the
distribution cost of or demand for Aegon's products;
- Changes in accounting regulations and policies or a change by Aegon in applying such
regulations and policies, voluntarily or otherwise, may affect Aegon's reported
results and shareholders' equity;
- The impact of acquisitions and divestitures, restructurings, product withdrawals and
other unusual items, including Aegon's ability to integrate acquisitions and to obtain
the anticipated results and synergies from acquisitions;
- Catastrophic events, either manmade or by nature, could result in material losses and
significantly interrupt Aegon's business; and
- Aegon's failure to achieve anticipated levels of earnings or operational efficiencies
as well as other cost saving and excess capital and leverage ratio management
initiatives.
</pre> Further details of potential risks and uncertainties affecting Aegon are described in
its filings with the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets and the US Securities
and Exchange Commission, including the Annual Report. These forward-looking statements
speak only as of the date of this document. Except as required by any applicable law or
regulation, Aegon expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly
any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any
change in Aegon's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or
circumstances on which any such statement is based.
Aegon's roots go back more than 150 years - to the first half of the nineteenth century.
Since then, Aegon has grown into an international company, with businesses in more than 20
countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Today, Aegon is one of the world's leading
financial services organizations, providing life insurance, pensions and asset management.
Aegon's purpose is to help people take responsibility for their financial future. More
information: aegon.com [http://www.aegon.com ].
<pre>
Media relations
Debora de Laaf
+31(0)70-344-8730
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Investor relations
Willem van den Berg
+31(0)70-344-8305
[email protected]
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