10:13 AM EDT, 04/24/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Berenberg said Friday that Aegon's (AGN.AS) sale of its UK insurance businesses to Standard Life (SDLF.L) "opens the door to potentially substantial upside in the future"and provides opportunities for extra value creation.

The 2 billion-pound-sterling deal, announced April 15, will be paid through a 15.3% stake in the London-listed retirement-focused insurer and 750 million pounds in cash.

"In terms of valuation, this is an attractive deal, in our view, as it was done at 1.9x P/B based on an IFRS book value of GBP1.077bn, a higher multiple than we believe the market had expected; we estimate that the market had expected GBP1.5bn, which would be 1.4x P/B,"the research firm noted.

Berenberg expects the deal to provide the Dutch insurer with "substantial extra firepower"amid the 12% uplift in Standard Life's share price since the deal announcement.

The price target of the buy-rated stock was increased to 8.07 euros from 7.40 euros.