Put option on 25% + 1 share of AG Insurance not exercised by BNP Paribas Fortis
Today Ageas announces that BNP Paribas Fortis did not exercise the put option it holds on the 25%+ 1 share stake in Ageas's Belgian subsidiary AG Insurance.
In the context of the 2009 events around Fortis Group, an agreement on the sale of 25% + 1 share of AG Insurance to Fortis Bank (now BNP Paribas Fortis) was concluded on 12 March 2009. This transaction was approved at the Ageas shareholders meeting of May 2009. As part of the agreement (i) Ageas granted Fortis Bank a put option to unconditionally resell the acquired stake in AG Insurance to Ageas in the six-month period starting January 1, 2018 and ending on June 30, 2018 and (ii) the existing distribution agreement between BNP Paribas Fortis and AG Insurance was confirmed until at least the end of 2020.
As BNP Paribas Fortis decided not to exercise the option, it remains shareholder for 25% + 1 share in AG Insurance and hence there is no impact on Ageas's net result. Also, the existing distribution agreement will continue without explicit end date but subject to a 3-year termination notice period.
And finally, based on the situation of March 31, 2018, the Group Solvency IIageas ratio would improve by around 7 percentage points while the IFRS shareholders equity would be approximately EUR 0.3 billion lower. The exact impact of this decision will be reflected in the Ageas financial accounts and solvency ratio in the second quarter of 2018.