Dutch insurer Aegon NV (AEG), which Thursday posted a second-quarter net loss, concluded a EUR1 billion capital increase to gain funds to partially repay the state aid it received in late 2008 to bolster its balance sheet, a move that will save about EUR370 million.

Aegon decided to launch the share issue in the market now because of favorable conditions and because it gives it time to make its first repayment to reduce the EUR3 billion in state aid by Dec. 1, its chief executive told Dow Jones Newswires.

"We have decided to do this now as the market circumstances are favorable and it gives us time to prepare a EUR1 billion payback of state aid at the end of the year," CEO Alex Wynaendts said, adding that he expects his company to repay the remaining EUR2 billion in two to three years at "maximal flexible conditions."

Wynaendts said Aegon will save EUR370 million by paying back EUR1 billion of its state funds by December. Repaying by Dec. 1 would save Aegon from having to pay specific charges tied to the state aid and it wouldn't be required to pay future coupons of at least 8.5% a year on the repurchased amount, Aegon said.

For the second quarter, Aegon slid to a net loss of EUR161 million from a net profit of EUR276 million a year earlier, after taking a EUR385 million loss on the sale of a unit in Taiwan and EUR393 million of one-off charges.

Closely tracked underlying pretax profit before tax, which excludes book losses and other extraordinary items, fell to EUR404 million from EUR596 million a year earlier.

Unsteady financial markets and policyholders' waning risk appetite have hit premium and capital levels of insurers throughout the globe, sending share prices down and causing some, such as Aegon, to seek state aid, although most insurers fared better than their banking counterparts during the crisis.

Aegon provides life insurance, pensions and other long-term savings and investment products. It has major operations in the Netherlands, the U.S. and the U.K.

The company's fundamental insurance business continued to struggle amid the downturn. Second-quarter revenue fell to EUR7.12 billion from EUR8.45 billion a year earlier.

Analysts were perplexed by the decision to tap equity markets to raise funds to pay down the state aid in light of the EUR3.5 billion of excess capital the company said it is holding. "It is somewhat strange," analysts at KBC securities said in an investor note. KBC, nonetheless, reaffirmed its accumulate recommendation on the stock.

SNS Securities said it is disappointed that the company is selling shares to pay down the debt instead of drawing down some of its excess capital. "This might imply that management expect a difficult second quarter and that given the equity issue today, they do not expect the share price to be higher than the current one."

Wynaendts later told Dow Jones Newswires that, under "the current uncertain economic circumstances, we prefer to keep our current excess capital buffer at EUR3.5 billion and not use it for state repayments."

Aegon's second-quarter loss anouncement came one day after Dutch bancassurer ING (ING) said it booked a net profit of EUR71 million in the second quarter, down from the EUR1.92 billion profit it made a year earlier but well above the net loss of EUR793 million it posted in the first quarter.

Aegon's shares were down 5.4% to EUR5.41 at 1500 GMT.

J.P. Morgan will be sole global coordinator and joint bookrunner of the equity issue. ABN AMRO and BofA Merrill Lynch will also act as joint bookrunners, it said.

 
   - By Bart Koster; Dow Jones Newswires; +31 20 571 5201; bart.koster@dowjones.com