Aegon finalizes acquisition of Turkish life insurance, pension company

Aegon has finalized the acquisition of the Turkish life insurance and pension provider Ankara Emeklilik. The acquisition is part of a broader objective to expand Aegon's presence in Central & Eastern Europe.
Aegon agreed to buy Ankara Emeklilik in February of this year.
"In June, when we presented our new Group strategy, we said we wanted to build scale in emerging markets like Central & Eastern Europe – markets that offer sustainable, profitable growth in the years ahead. The acquisition of Ankara Emeklilik is very much part of this strategy," said Gabor Kepecs, the member of Aegon's Management Board responsible for Central and Eastern Europe.
The acquisition marks Aegon's first step in the rapidly-growing Turkish life insurance and pension market. It also complements recent expansion in the Group's businesses in Central & Eastern Europe. With this latest acquisition, Aegon has operations in six countries in the region: Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Romania and Turkey.
In addition, the acquisition will give Aegon a strong platform for further growth in Turkey. Ankara Emeklilik already has a well-established position in the Turkish market with over 58,000 pension fund members and approximately EUR 35 mln in assets under management.
With the acquisition finalized, Aegon has appointed UÄŸur TozÃ…Ÿekerli, former Assistant General Manager of Yapi Kredi Emeklilik as CEO designate of Ankara Emeklilik. UÄŸur TozÃ…Ÿekerli said: "We are a country of 74 million people, more than either the United Kingdom or France. Yet, proportionally, we spend far less on life insurance or pensions. That is now changing and with Aegon's financial strength and expertise, we're well placed to increase our share of an expanding market."
Aegon's aim is to achieve a 10% share of the mandatory pension market in Central and Eastern Europe by 2010, increasing its total number of pension fund members in the region to 2.3 mln, up from approximately 2 mln at present. This number includes the members of the Skarbiec pension fund in Poland. Currently this operation is jointly owned by Aegon and BRE Bank. It is expected that Aegon will obtain full ownership of this operation in Q4 2008.