Today, the shareholder circular has been made available on
www.fortis.com. The purpose of this document is to provide to the
shareholders of Fortis SA/NV further details on the agreements
entered into by Fortis SA/NV and certain of its subsidiaries in
implementation of the decisions of the Board of Directors of Fortis
SA/NV of 3, 5 and 6 October 2008. The shareholder circular should
enable the shareholders to vote in an informed manner on the proposed
resolutions submitted for approval to the shareholders' meeting of
Fortis SA/NV on 11 February 2009 following the ruling of the Court of
Appeal of Brussels on 12 December 2008.
Fortis had postponed the publication of the shareholder circular
awaiting the publication of the interim report of the committee of
experts, which was published 26 January and also pending the
negotiations between Fortis, the Belgian State and BNP Paribas which
started on 27 January.
Early this morning Fortis, the Belgian State and BNP Paribas have
agreed on revised terms on the transactions concluded in October
2008. The Fortis Board has agreed on those new terms, subject to the
approval by the Fortis shareholders. Fortis refers to the joint press
release published earlier today for details on the terms.
Fortis will publish an addendum to its shareholder circular as soon
as possible reflecting the details of the transaction and its
estimated impact on Fortis' financials as well as the implications on
the agenda of the upcoming shareholders' meetings.
Fortis holding (Fortis SA/NV and Fortis N.V.) consists of (1) Fortis
Insurance Belgium (2) Fortis Insurance International, and (3)
financial assets and liabilities of various financing vehicles. The
international insurance activities (Fortis Insurance International)
are located in the UK, France, Hong Kong, Luxembourg (Non-Life),
Germany, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and in joint ventures in Luxembourg
(Life), Portugal, China, Malaysia, India and Thailand. Fortis holding
is not involved in banking activities.
Press Contacts:
Brussels: +32 (0)2 228 82 92 Utrecht: +31 (0)30 226 32 61
Investor Relations:
Brussels: +32 (0)2 565 53 78 Utrecht: +31 (0)30 226 65 66
This announcement was originally distributed by Hugin. The issuer is
solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
