Highfields Capital Continues to Oppose Delta Lloyd's Dilutive Rights Offering Following Chamber's Decision to Proceed with Vote

BOSTON, March 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Highfields Capital Management ("Highfields"), a value-oriented investment management firm that currently holds more than 9% of the outstanding shares of Delta Lloyd N.V. ("Delta Lloyd")(AMS: DL), confirmed today that it continues to strongly oppose Delta Lloyd's Rights Offering following the Dutch Enterprise Chamber's decision to not block Delta Lloyd from holding a vote on the Offering despite the company's failure to provide complete information  to shareholders.

The Chamber's decision follows a hearing today in which Highfields, Delta Lloyd's largest shareholder and Fubon, Delta Lloyd's third largest shareholder, provided compelling evidence that demonstrates that Delta Lloyd is adequately capitalized and has at its disposal several actions that would increase its capital ratio even further. Highfields has voted against the €650 million capital raise to allow for the development and assessment of capital ratio improvements that will make a dilutive rights offering avoidable. 

Highfields also voiced significant concerns about the management team's failed stewardship of Delta Lloyd and its lack of alignment with shareholders' interests. Delta Lloyd's stock has plummeted approximately 70% since Hans van der Noordaa took over as CEO, making it the worst performing insurance stock in Europe and the worst performing stock in the AEX. This performance has been massively value destructive to shareholders but has done little to impact the management team as the CEO owns zero shares of Delta Lloyd. The poor management of Delta Lloyd under Mr. van der Noordaa over the past 15 months has culminated in this massively dilutive rights offering to unnecessarily overcapitalize the company at the expense of shareholders.

Highfields also reiterated that the actions that it has taken to prevent the dilutive rights offering are intended to protect all Delta Lloyd shareholders. Highfields is a long-term value investor and has only taken this step because the actions of Delta Lloyd's management have been so value destructive to shareholders and they have been so unresponsive to the private concerns of its shareholders that the firm felt it was imperative to act.

Highfields' presentation to Delta Lloyd is available at www.DeltaLloydvote.com and www.DeltaLloydvote.nl.

About Highfields Capital
Highfields Capital Management is a $12 billion value-oriented investment management firm which manages private investment funds for endowments, charitable and philanthropic foundations, pension funds and other institutional and private investors.  The Highfields funds invest worldwide in public and private companies across a wide variety of industries and security types. The firm was founded in 1998 and is based in Boston, MA.

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SOURCE Highfields Capital Management

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