Securities and Exchange Commission
Washington, D.C. 20549
Form 6-K
Report of Foreign Issuer
Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d/16 of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
February 2013
AEGON N.V.
AEGONplein 50
2591 TV THE HAGUE
The Netherlands
AEGONs press release, dated February 4, 2013, is included as appendix and incorporated herein by reference.
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
AEGON N.V. | ||||||
(Registrant) | ||||||
Date: February 4, 2013 | By | /s/ E. Lagendijk | ||||
E. Lagendijk | ||||||
Executive Vice President and General Counsel |
The Hague February 4, 2013
Aegon ends Unnim partnership; reaffirms long-term commitment to Spain
Aegon has reached an agreement to exit its life, health and pension joint venture with Unnim Banc and sell its 50% stake to Unnim for a total consideration of EUR 353 million. The sale is expected to result in a book gain of approximately EUR 105 million before tax, and to generate an average annual return of 12% on investment.
It is anticipated that the transaction will close during the second quarter of 2013. Aegons share in underlying earnings before tax of the joint venture totaled EUR 20 million in 2012.
This anticipated divestment by Aegon is a consequence of the consolidation underway within the Spanish banking sector. Aegon maintains a long-term commitment to Spain and has recently reinforced its market position with an exclusive strategic partnership with Banco Santander to distribute life and general insurance products through its extensive network of 4,600 bank branches. The long-term alliance provides access to a potential client base of 12 million individuals across the country.
Aegon has been active in Spain for over thirty years and has established a reputation as a preferred provider of protection products through its network of bancassurance joint ventures.
Media relations | Investor relations | |
Greg Tucker | Willem van den Berg | |
+ 31 (0) 70 344 8956 | + 31 (0) 70 344 8305 | |
gcc@aegon.com | ir@aegon.com |
1
DISCLAIMER
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:
| 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 Aegons 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 Aegons investment portfolio and decline in ratings of Aegons counterparties; |
| Consequences of a potential (partial) break-up of the euro; |
| The frequency and severity of insured loss events; |
| Changes affecting mortality, morbidity, persistence and other factors that may impact the profitability of Aegons 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 Aegons 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 Aegons debt ratings issued by recognized rating organizations and the adverse impact such action may have on Aegons ability to raise capital and on its liquidity and financial condition; |
| Lowering of one or more of insurer financial strength ratings of Aegons 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 Unions 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 Aegons operations support complex transactions and are highly dependent on the proper functioning of information technology, a computer system failure or security breach may disrupt Aegons 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 Aegons products; |
| Changes in accounting regulations and policies may affect Aegons reported results and shareholders equity; |
| The impact of acquisitions and divestitures, restructurings, product withdrawals and other unusual items, including Aegons 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 Aegons business; and |
| Aegons failure to achieve anticipated levels of earnings or operational efficiencies as well as other cost saving initiatives. |
Further details of potential risks and uncertainties affecting Aegon are described in its filings with NYSE Euronext Amsterdam 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 Aegons expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
ABOUT AEGON
As an international life insurance, pensions and asset management company based in The Hague, Aegon has businesses in over twenty markets in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Aegon companies employ approximately 25,000 people and have nearly 47 million customers across the globe. Further information: aegon.com.