Insurance

De Brauw has acted as lead counsel to Aegon in its EUR 700 million sale of a.s.r. shares through an accelerated bookbuild offering. The proceeds from the offering will be subject to Aegon's capital management framework. Aegon remains committed to supporting a.s.r.'s strategy as its largest shareholder. The existing governance rights of Aegon under the Relationship Agreement with a.s.r. will not change as a result of the transaction. Aegon has entered into a 180-day lock-up commitment in respect of its remaining stake, subject to customary carve-outs. a.s.r. participated in the ABB by purchasing c. 15% of the total offering for c. EUR 105 million.

De Brauw advised Assicurazioni Generali SpA, a leading global integrated insurer and asset manager, on the combination of its asset management operations with Natixis Investment Managers, part of Groupe BPCE, a leading French banking group. The deal is valued at EUR 9.5 billion.

Leading financial services provider Achmea is planning a strategic partnership with Sixth Street in the Dutch pension and life market, with Achmea and Lifetri combining their pension and life portfolios.

The coronavirus pandemic causes human suffering, will lead to financial shocks and may hit pensions hard. The expectation is that those in work will be able to mitigate losses with future earnings, but pensioners do not have this opportunity. Two eminent economists in the Netherlands recently outlined a pension system that distributes shocks between the young and old. They propose attributing financial risks based on personal pension assets and objective market valuation. Pension funds divide the non-financial risks (life expectancy, expected future return and inflation) based on subjective estimates and defined ambition. This enables pension funds to distribute highs and lows, in the interest of social cohesion. Their blueprint can help the government and others who are currently engaged in working out the details of the new Pension Deal.

There have been many developments in national and European financial markets regulation during the past month. We provide a brief overview of these developments, which include the Council of the EU's vote on the EU banking reform package and, in the Netherlands, the adoption of a Dutch bill implementing the Prospectus Regulation and the rejection of a remuneration bill put forward by some members of parliament.

There have been many developments in national and European financial markets regulation during the past two months. We provide a brief overview of these developments, which include a political agreement on the EU Banking Reform Package, the publication of EBA's guidelines for outsourcing arrangements, and a provisional agreement on the review of the prudential framework for investment firms.