Today the Amsterdam Ondernemingskamer (Dutch Companies and Business Court) announced that it would render next Thursday, 5 April, at 9.30 am, its decision regarding the mismanagement proceedings against Fortis N.V. (now ageas N.V.). These proceedings were initiated by representatives of Fortis shareholders, including the Dutch shareholders association VEB, following the dismantlement of the former Fortis group in 2008.
During the first phase of the proceedings, the Ondernemingskamer ordered an inquiry on the management and the business course of Fortis N.V. during 2007 and 2008. The Dutch investigators issued their report on 16 June 2010. It is available for consultation on the Ageas website:
http://www.ageas.com/Documents/NL_final_report_dutch_investigation_20100616.pdf (http://www.ageas.com/Documents/NL_final_report_dutch_investigation_20100616.pdf).
During the second phase of the proceedings, VEB asked the Ondernemingskamer, partly on the basis of the investigators' report, to rule that there was mismanagement in the period from September 2007 up to and including September 2008 and to nullify the release from liability granted to the Fortis N.V. Board of Directors for its management during 2007.
Ageas will provide information on the content of the decision as soon as possible and, if necessary, will consider further steps to fully safeguard the interests of its stakeholders. For the sake of good order, Ageas emphasises that any claim for damages by former Fortis shareholders is not a matter for the Ondernemingskamer.
Ageas is an international insurance company with a heritage spanning more than 180 years. Ranked among the top 20 insurance companies in Europe, Ageas has chosen to concentrate its business activities in Europe and Asia, which together make up the largest share of the global insurance market. These are grouped around four segments: Belgium, United Kingdom, Continental Europe and Asia and served through a combination of wholly owned subsidiaries and partnerships with strong financial institutions and key distributors around the world. Ageas operates successful partnerships in Belgium, UK, Luxembourg, Italy, Portugal, Turkey, China, Malaysia, India and Thailand and has subsidiaries in France, Hong Kong and UK. It is the market leader in Belgium for individual life and employee benefits, as well as a leading non-life player, through AG Insurance, and in the UK, it has a strong presence as the third largest player in private car insurance and the over 50's market. It employs more than 13,000 people and has annual inflows of more than EUR 17 billion.
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Source: Ageas via Thomson Reuters ONE
