Aegon has agreed to sell its UK insurance business to Standard Life for a total value of 2 billion pounds ($2.7 billion), the Dutch insurer said on Wednesday.
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The payment would consist of a cash amount of 750 million pounds and 181.1 million shares, or a 15.3% stake, in Standard Life, Aegon said.
The stake would make Aegon the British insurer’s largest single shareholder, according to LSEG data, with the Amsterdam‑listed group also entitled to appoint one non‑executive director to Standard Life’s board.
Cash received at the closing of the transaction would be used for a combination of share buybacks and reducing debt, the company said.
Aegon said the divestment was expected to cause a reduction of 5 percentage points in the group solvency ratio. It also updated its financial forecast. It now expects its free cash flow run-rate and group operating result run-rate to increase by around 5% per year between 2025 and 2027.
Yearly operating capital generation growth is seen between 0% and 5% over the same period.
Aegon had previously said it was reviewing its insurance operations in Britain, eyeing a possible sale, as part of its upcoming move to the U.S. and rebranding into Transamerica.
Aegon reiterated that its UK asset management services would remain part of the group.
The deal is expected to close around the end of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.
($1 = 0.7372 pounds)
Kimberly-Clark said it’s taking action to mitigate the impact and maintain deliveries. That includes identifying other shipping locations and securing additional warehouse capacity. No manufacturing assets were impacted and property damage policies are in place.
“The company is working through mitigating any short-term disruptions as these plans are executed,” Kimberly-Clark said in a statement. The firm will provide further updates with its next quarterly earnings report, currently scheduled for April 28.
Shares rose about 2% at the open of trading on Wednesday. The stock had declined roughly 8% this year.
The local fire department said it had identified a suspect: Chamel Abdulkarim, an employee of NFI Industries, a third-party logistics provider for Kimberly-Clark products.
Abdulkarim, 29, was initially reported as missing and was “later suspected to have started the fire in the warehouse and quickly located by Ontario Police Department personnel,” the department said. He faces multiple arson-related felony charges and is being held without bail at West Valley Detention Center, it said.