THE HAGUE, the Netherlands, September 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Shareholders were given the opportunity to choose between receiving the 2015 interim dividend of EUR 0.12 per common share in cash or in stock. 43% of shareholders elected to receive the stock dividend. Those who elected for a stock dividend will receive one Aegon common share for every 45 common shares held. The stock fraction is based on Aegon's average share price as quoted on Euronext Amsterdam, using the high and low of each of the five trading days from September 7 up to and including September 11, 2015. The average share price calculated on this basis amounted to EUR 5.40. The stock dividend and the cash dividend are approximately equal in value.

Aegon will repurchase 20,136,673 common shares to neutralize the dilutive effect of the 2015 interim stock dividend. These shares will be held as treasury shares and will be used to pay future stock dividends. Aegon is committed to the repurchase of the common shares by engaging a third party to execute the transactions on its behalf. These transactions will commence on September 16, 2015, and are expected to be completed on or before October 14, 2015. The common shares will be repurchased at a maximum of the daily volume-weighted average price. Aegon will provide weekly updates regarding the transactions on aegon.com/sharebuyback [http://www.aegon.com/sharebuyback ].

DISCLAIMERS 

Forward-looking statements 

The statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The following are words that identify such forward-looking statements: aim, believe, estimate, target, intend, may, expect, anticipate, predict, project, counting on, plan, continue, want, forecast, goal, should, would, is confident, will, and similar expressions as they relate to Aegon. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Aegon undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which merely reflect company expectations at the time of writing. Actual results may differ materially from expectations conveyed in forward-looking statements due to changes caused by various risks and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to the following: 


        
        - Changes in general economic conditions, particularly in the United States, the
          Netherlands and the United Kingdom;
        - Changes in the performance of financial markets, including emerging markets, such as
          with regard to:
        - The frequency and severity of defaults by issuers in Aegon's fixed income investment
          portfolios;
        - The effects of corporate bankruptcies and/or accounting restatements on the financial
          markets and the resulting decline in the value of equity and debt securities Aegon
          holds; and
        - The effects of declining creditworthiness of certain private sector securities and the
          resulting decline in the value of sovereign exposure that Aegon holds;
        - Changes in the performance of Aegon's investment portfolio and decline in ratings of
          Aegon's counterparties;
        - Consequences of a potential (partial) break-up of the euro;
        - The frequency and severity of insured loss events;
        - Changes affecting longevity, mortality, morbidity, persistence and other factors that
          may impact the profitability of Aegon's insurance products;
        - Reinsurers to whom Aegon has ceded significant underwriting risks may fail to meet
          their obligations;
        - Changes affecting interest rate levels and continuing low or rapidly changing interest
          rate levels;
        - Changes affecting currency exchange rates, in particular the EUR/USD and EUR/GBP
          exchange rates;
        - Changes in the availability of, and costs associated with, liquidity sources such as
          bank and capital markets funding, as well as conditions in the credit markets in
          general such as changes in borrower and counterparty creditworthiness;
        - Increasing levels of competition in the United States, the Netherlands, the United
          Kingdom and emerging markets;
        - Changes in laws and regulations, particularly those affecting Aegon's operations,
          ability to hire and retain key personnel, the products Aegon sells, and the
          attractiveness of certain products to its consumers;
        - Regulatory changes relating to the insurance industry in the jurisdictions in which
          Aegon operates;
        - Changes in customer behavior and public opinion in general related to, among other
          things, the type of products also Aegon sells, including legal, regulatory or
          commercial necessity to meet changing customer expectations;
        - Acts of God, acts of terrorism, acts of war and pandemics;
        - Changes in the policies of central banks and/or governments;
        - Lowering of one or more of Aegon's debt ratings issued by recognized rating
          organizations and the adverse impact such action may have on Aegon's ability to raise
          capital and on its liquidity and financial condition;
        - Lowering of one or more of insurer financial strength ratings of Aegon's insurance
          subsidiaries and the adverse impact such action may have on the premium writings,
          policy retention, profitability and liquidity of its insurance subsidiaries;
        - The effect of the European Union's Solvency II requirements and other regulations in
          other jurisdictions affecting the capital Aegon is required to maintain;
        - Litigation or regulatory action that could require Aegon to pay significant damages or
          change the way Aegon does business;
        - As Aegon's operations support complex transactions and are highly dependent on the
          proper functioning of information technology, a computer system failure or security
          breach may disrupt Aegon's business, damage its reputation and adversely affect its
          results of operations, financial condition and cash flows;
        - Customer responsiveness to both new products and distribution channels;
        - Competitive, legal, regulatory, or tax changes that affect profitability, the
          distribution cost of or demand for Aegon's products;
        - Changes in accounting regulations and policies or a change by Aegon in applying such
          regulations and policies, voluntarily or otherwise, may affect Aegon's reported
          results and shareholders' equity;
        - The impact of acquisitions and divestitures, restructurings, product withdrawals and
          other unusual items, including Aegon's ability to integrate acquisitions and to obtain
          the anticipated results and synergies from acquisitions;
        - Catastrophic events, either manmade or by nature, could result in material losses and
          significantly interrupt Aegon's business; and
        - Aegon's failure to achieve anticipated levels of earnings or operational efficiencies
          as well as other cost saving and excess capital and leverage ratio management
          initiatives.

Further details of potential risks and uncertainties affecting Aegon are described in its filings with the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets and the US Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Annual Report. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this document. Except as required by any applicable law or regulation, Aegon expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in Aegon's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. Aegon's roots go back more than 150 years - to the first half of the nineteenth century. Since then, Aegon has grown into an international company, with businesses in more than 20 countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Today, Aegon is one of the world's leading financial services organizations, providing life insurance, pensions and asset management. Aegon's purpose is to help people take responsibility for their financial future. More information: aegon.com [http://www.aegon.com ]. 


        
         
        Media relations 
        Debora de Laaf 
        +31(0)70-344-8730 
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        Investor relations 
        Willem van den Berg 
        +31(0)70-344-8305 
        ir@aegon.com  
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      PRN NLD

SOURCE Aegon N.V.