MONTREAL, May 16, 2006 – A Special General Meeting will be held in Edinburgh, Scotland (Head Office of The Standard Life Assurance Company) on May 31, 2006 to seek members’ approval of the Board’s proposal that Standard Life demutualize and float on the London Stock Exchange.
All voting members of Standard Life are entitled to vote on the demutualization and flotation proposal. Vote and Proposal packs have been mailed to the approximately 2.4 million eligible members and a further 2.1 million policyholders worldwide. This includes approximately 61,000 eligible members in Canada.
Sir Brian Stewart, Chairman of Standard Life, has stated that, “Every single member of the Board recommends that you vote ‘yes’ – demutualization and flotation can’t go ahead unless at least 75% of members who vote, vote ‘yes’.” Joseph Iannicelli, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada, wholeheartedly endorses this statement, “Every voting member has one vote and every vote counts. Many people assume that demutualization and flotation will definitely go ahead. This is not the case. I encourage voting members, if they have not already voted, to vote now and have their say in Standard Life’s future.”
The Vote and Proposal packs issued to voting members include the Proposal for members and policyholders, a voting form and a postage-paid return envelope. In Canada, the Vote and Proposal pack also includes a Notice to policyholders. Members are asked to consider the Proposal and decide which way to vote. While voting members are welcome at the Special General Meeting, attendance is not required in order to vote. Voting members may use their voting form to tell the Chairman – or someone else who will be at the meeting – how they wish to vote.
Voting forms must be received by the Company no later than midnight (UK time) on Sunday, May 28, 2006. Forms that arrive after this deadline will not count, although voting members can still vote in person at the Special General Meeting. Voting members are urged to ensure that they mail their voting forms in plenty of time to meet this deadline.
Members who would like more information on the demutualization proposal are invited to visit Standard Life’s Web site at www.standardlife.ca/, or to contact Standard Life at 1 888 676-4100. Lines are open from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, Eastern and Mountain Time, Monday to Friday.
About Standard Life:
The Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada and its affiliated companies have $40.5 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2005 and offer a wide range of financial products and services to over 1.28 million individuals, including group insurance and pension plan members. Products and services include group savings and retirement, group insurance, individual life insurance, savings and retirement, mutual funds and portfolio management. Total premium income and deposits reached $5.2 billion in 2005. (www.standardlife.ca/)
Founded in Edinburgh (Scotland) in 1825, The Standard Life Assurance Company is a mutual company. On 17 October 2005, the Board of Standard Life announced that it intends to recommend to members that the Standard Life should demutualize and list on the London Stock Exchange, subject to satisfactory completion of all legal, regulatory and other processes. A Special General Meeting has been called for May 31, 2006 to seek members’ approval of the demutualization and flotation plans. As of December 31, 2005, the Company has approximately 7 million customers worldwide and its investment management business has $239 billion in assets under management. ( www.standardlife.com )
