OREANDA-NEWS. ING announced today that the underwriters in the offering of shares of ING U.S. Inc., its U.S.-based retirement, investment and insurance subsidiary, have exercised their option to purchase an additional 4.95 million shares of ING U.S. from ING Group at the offering price of USD 29.50 per share. The sale of these additional shares further reduces ING Group’s ownership stake in ING U.S. from approximately 59% to approximately 57%.

The gross proceeds to ING Group from the exercise of the option are approximately USD 146 million (approximately EUR 106 million at current exchange rates), bringing the total gross proceeds to ING Group from the offering to approximately USD 1.1 billion. As previously announced, ING Group intends to use the net proceeds of the transaction for the reduction of Group core debt.

ING has previously announced its intention to divest its remaining stake in ING U.S. over time, in line with its strategy to separate and divest its insurance and investment management businesses. In this context, ING sold shares of ING U.S. through an initial public offering in May 2013 and further reduced its stake in ING U.S. through an offering of 33 million shares in ING U.S. as announced on 23 October 2013. ING U.S. common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “VOYA”.

The exercise of the option will not impact the profit and loss account of ING Group. It will have a negative impact of approximately EUR 0.1 billion on the shareholder’s equity of ING Group. This amount reflects the difference between the net proceeds to ING Group from the exercise of the option and the estimated IFRS book value of the 2% stake it approximately represents.

The registration statement relating to these securities has been declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). A copy of the registration statement may be obtained by visiting the SEC website at www.sec.gov. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of any offer to buy, any securities.