Form 6-K

 

 

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

 

 

 


AEGON’s 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


LOGO

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. Aegon’s 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


LOGO

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 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 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 may affect Aegon’s reported results and shareholder’s 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 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 Aegon’s 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.