Ageas announces today that, based on the shareholder authorisation granted at the end of April 2013, the Board of Directors has decided to initiate a new share buy-back programme of its outstanding common stock for an amount of EUR 200 million.
Ageas will start the share buy-back programme on 12 August 2013 up to 5 August 2014.
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. The share buy-back will not affect the solvency position of the insurance operations.
Ageas will keep the market fully informed of the progress of the transaction in line with applicable regulations.
Ageas is an international insurance group 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. Ageas is the market leader in Belgium for individual life and employee benefits, as well as a leading non-life player through AG Insurance. In the UK, Ageas has a strong presence as the fourth largest player in private car insurance and the over 50’s market. Ageas employs more than 13,000 people and has annual inflows of more than EUR 21 billion.
