Aegon Hungary has signed an agreement to purchase 100% of the registered capital of UNIQA Asset Management Company and Heller-Saldo 2000 Pension Fund Management Company, both Hungarian entities, from UNIQA Insurance Company.
The shares will be transferred to Aegon by June 30, 2008, subject to the approval of regulatory authorities.
This latest transaction is in line with Aegon's growth strategy to strengthen its position in the developing pension and asset management markets in Central and Eastern Europe. Aegon Hungary's assets under management for the pension business currently amount to EUR 1.6 billion. Following the acquisition, assets under management will increase by approximately EUR 300 million*. After completion, Aegon will rank second in the Hungarian mandatory and third in the voluntary pension fund market.
Aegon entered Hungary in 1992 with the acquisition of the former state-owned insurance company Állami Biztosító. In recent years, Aegon's successful operations in Hungary have provided a springboard for further expansion throughout the Central and Eastern European region. Last year, Aegon acquired PTE Skarbiec-Emerytura in Poland, which it is currently combining with PTE Ergo Hestia to enhance its pension fund management business in the country. In Central and Eastern Europe, Aegon is also active in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania, where it signed an agreement last year with the country's fourth largest commercial bank to form a joint pension fund management company.
* Source: Hungarian Financial Supervisory Authority (HFSA) 3Q 2007 figures
