a.s.r. completes sale of Knab and announces extra share buyback
ASR Nederland N.V. (a.s.r.) and BAWAG Group AG (BAWAG) meet all the conditions imposed on the transaction for the sale of Knab to BAWAG. The Dutch Central Bank and the European Central Bank have issued a declaration of no objection and the Central Works Council of a.s.r. has issued a positive advice. The transaction has thus been successfully completed. a.s.r. will use an amount of € 100 million from the proceeds of the sale to buy back own shares.
On 1 February this year, a.s.r. and BAWAG announced they had reached an agreement on the sale of Knab to BAWAG. The transaction involves an amount of € 590 million, which includes the servicing of the mortgage portfolio of Knab. The transaction has a positive effect of 17%-point[1] on the Solvency II ratio of a.s.r.
a.s.r. will use an amount of € 100 million from the proceeds for a share buyback and will add the remainder to its capital position. The share buyback is in addition to the existing intention as announced on the Capital Markets Day (CMD) earlier this year and underscores a.s.r.'s commitment to rationally allocate capital. The expected return on this buyback exceeds the minimum return requirement for investments. This buyback has an impact of <2%-point on the Solvency II ratio.
Jos Baeten, CEO and chairman of the Executive Board at a.s.r.: ‘I am pleased with the successful completion of the sale, which was achieved, within the expected timelines, through the joint efforts of Knab, BAWAG, and a.s.r. From today, BAWAG and Knab can strengthen their position in the Dutch market together. We remain focused on the successful integration of former Aegon Nederland’s operations and the execution of our strategy as we presented it at the CMD in June.
The proceeds from the sale strengthen a.s.r.'s capital position, allowing us to execute our strategy with an even stronger balance sheet. As a result of the transaction our Solvency II ratio increases by 17%-point, which is more favourable than reported at the CMD earlier this year. Therefore, we have decided to buy back shares for an amount of € 100 million. The repurchase will be started this year and is in addition to the commitment for share buybacks that was previously announced. All targets for 2024-2026, as communicated at the CMD, remain in full force and effect.’
The share buyback falls within the authorisation of the General Meeting of Shareholders of a.s.r., granted to the Executive Board on 29 May 2024. a.s.r. will seek approval from the General Meeting of Shareholders on 21 May 2025 to cancel the repurchased shares.
a.s.r. will appoint an independent broker to execute the repurchases. The exact timing will be determined by the broker, independently and without interference from a.s.r. Based on the closing price of € 43.57 as of 31 October 2024 and the amount of € 100 million, the number of shares to be repurchased would be 2,295,157. The implementation of the repurchase depends on market conditions. In accordance with the agreements, Aegon Ltd will keep its position below 30% of the issued and outstanding share capital.
The progress of the repurchases will be announced weekly on the a.s.r. website:
https://www.asrnl.com/investor-relations/shareholders/inkoop-eigen-aandelen
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7 Nov 2024a.s.r. to commence €100 million share buyback programmeASR Nederland N.V. (a.s.r.) announces the initiation of a share buyback programme for an amount of € 100 million, following the successful completion of the sale of Knab to BAWAG, as announced on 1 November.
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