Aegon has agreed to acquire Banca Transilvania’s 50% shareholding in BT Aegon, the two companies’ jointly-owned Romanian pension business. Aegon will pay approximately EUR 11 million for the stake, which will give Aegon full control of the pension business.
Aegon and Banca Transilvania (BT) will remain partners. As part of the transaction, the two companies will sign a distribution agreement covering both life insurance and pension products. This agreement will be finalized in the coming weeks, and will allow both BT and Aegon to benefit from the further growth expected in the Romanian pension and life insurance markets in the coming years.
BT has decided to sell its stake to Aegon in order to focus on its core banking activities. BT remains committed to supporting the development of the small and medium-sized companies in Romania and its more than 1 million retail clients, using its broad network of branches as an effective distribution platform.
Aegon already has businesses in six countries across Central & Eastern Europe – Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Turkey and Romania. This latest agreement will further strengthen Aegon’s position in both Romania and the region as a whole.
The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2009, subject to prior regulatory approval.
