Pre-Annual General Meeting Information • Mar 20, 2025
Pre-Annual General Meeting Information
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prepared in accordance with Article 7:199 of the Belgian Companies and Associations Code
This report is drawn up in accordance with Article 7:199 of the Belgian Companies and Associations Code, to support the proposal that will be made to the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders, to grant to the board of directors the authorization to increase the share capital of ageas SA/NV (also referred to as the "Company") with a maximum amount of EUR 150,000,000 enabling the issuance of 18,765,000 shares, and to cancel, as the case may be, the balance of the authorized capital, as mentioned in Article 6 a) of the articles of association of the Company, which, on the date of this report, remains unused. The board of directors proposes that this authorization will be granted for a period of three years with effect as from the date of publication in the Annexes to the Belgian State Gazette of the resolutions of the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders approving this proposal.
On 15 May 2024, the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders granted to the board of directors of the Company the authorization to increase the share capital with a maximum amount of EUR 150,000,000 enabling the issuance of approximately 18,765,000 shares and applied to an accounting par value of EUR 7.99 at that point in time. Of these approximately 18,765,000 shares, approximately 1,800,000 shares covered commitments entered into in the context of the issue of certain financial instruments. On the date of this report, the entire amount of the authorized capital remains unused.
The authorization was granted to the board of directors for a period of three years, ending in 2027.
In accordance with the provisions regulating ageas SA/NV, to the extent law permits, and in the interest of the Company, the board of directors aims to be able to have recourse to the authorized capital procedure to have the flexibility and rapidity that this procedure offers to enable the Company to issue shares, with the option to deviate from the preferential subscription right of the existing shareholders or to carry out a capital increase by means of a contribution in kind.
The requested authorization aims to be able to increase the share capital with a maximum amount of EUR 150,000,000 for general purposes. Applied to an accounting par value of EUR 7.99 this enables the issuance of up to 18,765,000 shares, representing approximately 10% of the total
current share capital of the Company. The authorization is requested to be granted to the board of directors for a period of three years.
This technique also enables the Company to meet its obligations entered into in the context of the issue of the financial instruments listed in section 2.2 a.
The objectives of the request to grant authorised capital as set out in this report can be subdivided in (i) use for existing commitments and (ii) use for general purposes.
The authorized capital must enable the board of directors to cover the commitments taken in the context of the issue of the hybrid financial instruments described hereafter.
Under the terms of these outstanding instruments, ageas SA/NV has committed to use all reasonable efforts to have sufficient authorized capital at all times to meet potential obligations to issue shares in the context of these instruments.
In certain circumstances, as further specified in the relevant contractual terms of the financial instruments, ageas SA/NV may be compelled to pay coupons which are due in new shares of ageas SA/NV ("Alternative Coupon Settlement Method" or "ACSM").
The contractual terms require that ageas SA/NV uses all reasonable efforts to have sufficient authorized capital at all times to meet these potential obligations. For this reason ageas SA/NV annually requests its shareholders to approve an authorized capital which can be used for this specific purpose.
This request notably concerns the following instruments:
It should be noted that BNP Paribas Fortis, that issued the above mentioned CASHES, is no longer under the control of ageas SA/NV, which has an impact on the risk of the ACSM being triggered.
Assuming a Euribor rate of 2.5% and an Ageas share price of EUR 44.06, the maximum number of shares to be issued by ageas SA/NV if the ACSM were triggered simultaneously on all aforementioned financial instruments currently amounts to approximately 1,200,000 shares per annum.
The board of directors proposes to be authorized to issue up to 18,765,000 shares, representing approximately 10% of the total share capital of the Company, for general purposes. The commitments set out in section 2.2.a represent approximately 0.64% of the total number of outstanding shares in the Company; the remainder is requested with a view to achieving the following objectives taken individually or together:
Therefore, the board of directors proposes to the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders to grant an authorization which, if approved, authorizes the board of directors to increase the share capital of the Company, in one or more transactions, with a maximum amount of EUR 150,000,000, which represents approximately 10% of the Company's current share capital.
In the event that the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders does not approve the authorization, the balance of the existing authorized capital will not be cancelled.
The board of directors further proposes that this authorization will be granted for a period of three years, with effect as from the date of publication in the Annexes to the Belgian State Gazette of the resolutions approved by the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders.
This capital increase may be achieved, amongst other means, by contributions in cash (with or without cancellation or limitation of the preferential subscription right of the existing shareholders) or in kind, by incorporation, with or without the issue of new shares, of available or non-available reserves, share premium accounts, claims, the issue of bonds convertible into shares or bonds with
subscription rights, as well as by subscription rights which may or may not be attached to another security.
The corresponding amendment to the articles of association described below assumes that, as past experience suggests, the first extraordinary general meeting of shareholders of 23 April 2025 will not be able to validly deliberate and decide because the quorum of 50% of the capital is not attained and that only the second extraordinary general meeting of 21 May 2025 will be able to deliberate and decide.
In the event that the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders votes in favour of the requested authorization as set out above and the balance of the existing authorized capital is consequently cancelled, Article 6 would be amended as follows:
Paragraph a) would be amended as follows:
"a) the board of directors is authorized to increase the Company capital, in one or more transactions, with a maximum amount of one hundred fifty million euro (EUR 150,000,000). This authorization is granted to the board of directors for a period of three years starting on the date of the publication in the Belgian State Gazette of the amendment to the articles of association of the Company resolved by the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders of 21 May 2025."
Brussels, 26 February 2025
For the board of directors of ageas SA/NV
Chief Executive Officer
•art De Smet
Chairman
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