AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Aegon's agreement to divest its remaining annuities portfolio to Legal and General (>> Legal & General Group Plc) will improve the company's group solvency ratio by 2 to 3 percentage points, Aegon said on Monday.

Aegon's shares have been highly sensitive to changes in the ratio under Europe's new Solvency II regime, falling sharply on May 12 when the company announced the ratio had fallen to 155 percent from 160 percent in the first quarter.

Spokesman Dick Schiethart told Reuters in an email the deal announced on Monday would free up 275 million pounds, representing an improvement in Aegon's Solvency II ratio of 2-3 percentage points at group level.

(Reporting by Toby Sterling; editing by Jason Neely)

Stocks treated in this article : AEGON, Legal & General Group Plc