AEGON Finalizes Acquisition of Turkish Life Insurance and Pension Company
July 10 2008 - 1:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Acquisition Marks First Step for AEGON in Fast-Growing Turkish
Market THE HAGUE, The Netherlands, July 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/
-- AEGON has finalized the acquisition of the Turkish life
insurance and pension provider Ankara Emeklilik. The acquisition is
part of a broader objective to expand AEGON's presence in Central
& Eastern Europe. AEGON agreed to buy Ankara Emeklilik in
February of this year. "In June, when we presented our new Group
strategy, we said we wanted to build scale in emerging markets like
Central & Eastern Europe - markets that offer sustainable,
profitable growth in the years ahead. The acquisition of Ankara
Emeklilik is very much part of this strategy," said Gabor Kepecs,
the member of AEGON's Management Board responsible for Central
& Eastern Europe. The acquisition marks AEGON's first step in
the rapidly-growing Turkish life insurance and pension market. It
also complements recent expansion in the Group's businesses in
Central & Eastern Europe. With this latest acquisition, AEGON
has operations in six countries in the region: Hungary, Poland,
Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Romania and Turkey. In addition, the
acquisition will give AEGON a strong platform for further growth in
Turkey. Ankara Emeklilik already has a well-established position in
the Turkish market with over 58,000 pension fund members and
approximately EUR 35 million in assets under management. With the
acquisition finalized, AEGON has appointed Ugur Tozsekerli, former
Assistant General Manager of Yapi Kredi Emeklilik as CEO
designate(1) of Ankara Emeklilik. Ugur Tozsekerli said: "I'm very
excited to be leading this company. The Turkish market has enormous
potential for growth. We are a country of 74 million people, more
than either the United Kingdom or France. Yet, proportionally, we
spend far less on life insurance or pensions. That is now changing
and with AEGON's financial strength and expertise, we're well
placed to increase our share of an expanding market." Last month,
as part of the Group's new strategy, 'Unlocking the Global
Potential', AEGON set out an ambitious growth plan for its
businesses in Central & Eastern Europe, based on: - Broadening
its product and distribution range; - Achieving a top-five position
in each of its markets in the region; - Pursuing add-on
acquisitions and selective entry into new markets. AEGON's aim is
to achieve a 10% share of the mandatory pension market in Central
& Eastern Europe by 2010, increasing its total number of
pension fund members in the region to 2.3 million, up from
approximately two million(2) at present. AEGON is one of the
world's largest life insurance and pension groups, and a strong
provider of investment products. AEGON empowers local business
units to identify and provide products and services that meet the
evolving needs of customers, using distribution channels best
suited to local markets. AEGON takes pride in balancing a local
approach with the power of an expanding global operation. With
headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands, AEGON companies employ
approximately 30,000 people worldwide. AEGON's businesses serve
millions of customers in over twenty markets throughout the
Americas, Europe, and Asia. Respect, quality, transparency and
trust constitute AEGON's core values as the company continually
strives to meet the expectations of customers, shareholders,
employees and business partners. AEGON is driven to deliver new
thinking with the ambition to be the best in the industry. (1)
Appointment is subject to regulatory approval. (2) This number
includes the members of the open pension fund Skarbiec-Emerytura in
Poland. It is expected that AEGON will be able to fully take into
account these members in Q4 2008. Forward-looking statements The
statements contained in this press release 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: believe, estimate,
target, intend, may, expect, anticipate, predict, project, counting
on, plan, continue, want, forecast, should, would, is confident,
will, and similar expressions as they relate to our company. These
statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve
risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict.
We undertake 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 our fixed income investment
portfolios; and - 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 we hold; - The
frequency and severity of insured loss events; - Changes affecting
mortality, morbidity and other factors that may impact the
profitability of our insurance products; - 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; - Increasing
levels of competition in the United States, the Netherlands, the
United Kingdom and emerging markets; - Changes in laws and
regulations, particularly those affecting our operations, the
products we sell, and the attractiveness of certain products to our
consumers; - Regulatory changes relating to the insurance industry
in the jurisdictions in which we operate; - Acts of God, acts of
terrorism, acts of war and pandemics; - Changes in the policies of
central banks and/or governments; - Litigation or regulatory action
that could require us to pay significant damages or change the way
we do business; - Customer responsiveness to both new products and
distribution channels; - Competitive, legal, regulatory, or tax
changes that affect the distribution cost of or demand for our
products; - Our failure to achieve anticipated levels of earnings
or operational efficiencies as well as other cost saving
initiatives; and - The impact our adoption of the International
Financial Reporting Standards may have on our reported financial
results and financial condition. Group Corporate Communications
& Investor Relations Media relations Phone: +31-(0)70-344-8344
E-mail: Investor relations Phone: +31-(0)70-344-8305 or
+1-877-548-9668 - toll free USA only E-mail: Website
http://www.aegon.com/ DATASOURCE: AEGON N.V. CONTACT: Group
Corporate Communications & Investor Relations: Media relations,
Phone: +31-(0)70-344-8344, E-mail: . Investor relations: Phone:
+31-(0)70-344-8305 or +1-877-548-9668 - toll free USA only, E-mail:
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