Munich Re Group Annual Report 2006 (PDF, 1.8

Munich Re Group Annual Report 2006 Notes_Notes to the consolidated balance sheet – Equity and liabilities
Notes to the consolidated balance sheet – Equity and liabilities
(17) Equity
The total share capital of €587,725,396.48 at 31 December 2006 is
divided into 229,580,233 registered no-par-value shares, each fully
paid up and entitled to one vote. By resolution of the Annual General
Meeting on 28 April 2005, Munich Re was authorised to buy back
shares amounting to a maximum of 10% of the share capital up to
27 October 2006. The Annual General Meeting on 19 April 2006
renewed this resolution, thereby authorising the Board of Management
to buy back shares amounting to a maximum of 10% of the
share capital up to 18 October 2007. The number of shares in circulation
developed as follows:
Development of shares in circulation
Number of shares 2006 Prev. year
Status at 31 Dec. previous year
Additions
228,007,663 228,519,407
– Issue of employee shares
Reductions
14,648 17,248
– Acquisition of shares for cancellation (share buy-back programme) 2,036,061 –
– Acquisition of shares to issue to employees 14,518 15,942
– Acquisition of shares to safeguard stock appreciation rights under long-term incentive plans 355,559 513,050
Status at 31 Dec. financial year 225,616,173 228,007,663
On 31 December 2006, a total of 3,964,060 Munich Re shares with a
calculated nominal value of €10,147,993.60 were held by Group companies.
This represents 1.73% of the share capital.
At its meeting on 7 November 2006, Munich Re’s Board of Management
decided on a share buy-back programme, thus availing
itself of the authorisation granted by the Annual General Meeting on
19 April 2006, in accordance with Section 71 para. 1 item 8 of the German
Stock Companies Act. In the period from 8 November 2006 to
the Annual General Meeting on 26 April 2007, up to 11,000,000
Munich Re shares would be acquired via the stock exchange. The
share buy-back was restricted to a total purchase price (excluding
incidental expenses) of €1bn. The purpose of the share buy-back is to
retire the repurchased shares in order to optimise the Company’s
capital structure. At 31 December 2006, a total of 2,036,061 shares
had been purchased at an average price of €122.79. The share buyback
was successfully concluded in February 2007.
For the employee share programme set up by Munich Reinsurance
Company in 2006, the 130 shares left over from the 2005
employee share programme were supplemented by 12,225 shares
purchased at an average price of €124.00 and sold to staff at an average
price of €91.90. For the employee share programme set up by
MEAG MUNICH ERGO AssetManagement GmbH in 2006, 2,293
shares were purchased at an average price of €112.16, which staff
acquired at an average price of €82.84. At 31 December 2006, there
were no shares remaining in the portfolio.
In addition, one subsidiary holds 1,463,578 shares to safeguard
stock appreciation rights granted to the Board of Management and
178
top Munich Re executives since 1999. In 2006, a total of 400,000
shares were acquired for this programme at an average price of
€106.69, and 139,691 shares were sold at an average price of €121.51.
In the financial year 2006, companies of the ERGO Insurance
Group acquired 121,196 shares at an average price of €110.16 each to
cover future commitments from the long-term incentive plans
launched since 2002, and sold 43,921 shares at a price of €125.16
each. Together with the remaining Munich Re shares acquired to
safeguard the stock appreciation rights granted in 2002–2005, the
ERGO Insurance Group had a total portfolio of 377,510 shares at 31
December 2006.
Europäische Reiseversicherung AG acquired no further Munich
Re shares in 2006 to safeguard its long-term incentive plans and sold
16,872 shares at an average price of €112.36. At 31 December 2006, it
had no Munich Re shares remaining in its portfolio.
MEAG MUNICH ERGO AssetManagement GmbH acquired 37,440
shares at €106.11 each and sold 2,593 shares at an average price of
€98.15 in the financial year 2006 to safeguard obligations from its
long-term incentive plan and thus has a portfolio of 86,911 Munich
Re shares.
The acquisition costs of all Munich Re shares in the possession of
Group companies at the end of the financial year totalled
€460,022,921.03.