On 27 April 2013, Ageas announced that Royal Park Investments reached an agreement on the disposal of its asset portfolio for a total amount of EUR 6.7 billion while Ageas reached an agreement with the Belgian State on the sale of the call option on the BNP Paribas shares for a total amount of EUR 144 million.
The net accounting impact of these agreements will be included in Ageas's first quarter results published on 15 May 2013. The total combined impact on the General Account related to Royal Park Investments and the call option on BNP Paribas shares amounts to EUR 142 million. This amount breaks down as follows:
· Royal Park Investments (RPI): the total result of RPI in the first quarter on an IFRS basis and at 100% amounted to EUR 520 million or EUR 232 million for Ageas's part. This amount includes the result of the revaluation of the portfolio, the write off of the remaining deferred tax asset and the release of the hedging reserve via the income statement.
· Call option on the BNP Paribas shares: a net cost of EUR 90 million, being the difference between the value of the call option at the end of 2012, EUR 234 million, and the total consideration of EUR 144 million to be paid by the Belgian State.
The equity value of the stake of Ageas in Royal Park Investments as at 31 March 2013 amounts to EUR 1,027 million, an increase of EUR 155 million, resulting from the aforementioned net result of EUR 232 million adjusted for the release of the hedging reserve of EUR 77 million, which was previously recorded in equity.
Ageas is an international insurance group 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. Ageas is the market leader in Belgium for individual life and employee benefits, as well as a leading non-life player through AG Insurance. In the UK, Ageas has a strong presence as the fourth largest player in private car insurance and the over 50's market. Ageas employs more than 13,000 people and has annual inflows of more than EUR 21 billion.
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Source: Ageas via Thomson Reuters ONE
