Notes to the consolidated financial statements of Aegon N.V.  Note 56 282 56 Related party transactions  Annual Report 2013 Related party transactions include, among others, transactions between Aegon N.V. and Vereniging Aegon. On July 5, 2013, and with effect of June 14, 2013, Vereniging Aegon exercised its option rights to purchase in aggregate 12,691,745  common shares B at fair value of a common share B (being 1/40th of the Market value of a common share in the capital of  the company at the time of issuance) to mitigate dilution caused by Aegon’s issuance of shares on June 14, 2013, being the final  dividend 2012 in the form of stock dividend. On May 29, 2013, the Articles of Association of Aegon N.V. were amended, which included the conversion of all outstanding  329,773,000 preferred shares a and B with a nominal value of EUR 0.25 each, all owned by Vereniging Aegon, into  120,713,389 common shares and 566,313,694 common shares B with a nominal value of EUR 0.12 each. The financial  rights attached to a common share B was determined at 1/40th of the financial rights attached to a common share.  (see also the section “Major Shareholders”). On May 29, 2013, Aegon N.V. and Vereniging Aegon entered into an amendment of the Amended 1983 Merger Agreement between  Aegon N.V. and Vereniging Aegon. Following this 2013 amendment, Vereniging Aegon’s call option relates to common shares  B. Vereniging Aegon may exercise its call option on common shares B to keep or restore its total stake at 32.6% irrespective of  the circumstances which caused the total shareholding to be or become lower than 32.6% (see also the section “Major Shareholders”). On May 29, 2013, Aegon N.V. and Vereniging Aegon entered into a Voting Rights Agreement, which ensures that under normal  circumstances, i.e. except in the event of a Special Cause, Vereniging Aegon will no longer be allowed to exercise more votes than  is proportionate to the financial rights represented by its shares. This means that in absence of a ‘Special Cause”, Vereniging Aegon  may cast 1 vote for every common share it holds and only 1 vote for every 40 common shares B it holds. (see also the section  “Major Shareholders”). On February 15, 2013, Aegon N.V. and Vereniging Aegon reached an agreement to simplify the capital structure of Aegon N.V. and  to exchange all of Aegon’s preferred shares for cash and common shares , subject to approval by the Annual General Meeting of  Shareholders, which was given on May 15, 2013.  On October 15, 2012, Vereniging Aegon exercised its option rights to purchase in aggregate 3,907,000 class B preferred shares at par  value to mitigate dilution caused by Aegon’s issuance of shares on September 15, 2012, being the interim-dividend 2012 in the form  of stock-dividend.  On August 15, 2012, Vereniging Aegon exercised its option rights to purchase in aggregate 4,114,000 class B preferred shares at  par value to mitigate dilution caused by Aegon’s issuance of shares on June 15, 2012, being the final dividend 2011 in the form of  stock-dividend.  On June 15, 2011, Aegon repurchased 187.5 million of the convertible core capital securities. The total payment to the Dutch  government on June 15, 2011 amounted to EUR 1.125 billion and included a premium of EUR 375 million. Including this repurchase  Aegon had repurchased the full EUR 3 billion convertible core capital securities from the Dutch State. The total amount Aegon has paid  to the Dutch State amounts to EUR 4.1 billion. Of this amount, EUR 3 billion covered the original issue of core capital securities, while  an additional EUR 1.1 billion was paid in premium and interest.  On March 15, 2011, Vereniging Aegon exercised its option rights to purchase in aggregate 41,042,000 class B preferred shares at  par value to mitigate dilution caused by Aegon’s issuance of shares conducted under Aegon’s US Shelf Registration through the sale  of 173,604,912 common shares of Aegon N.V. at a price of EUR 5.20 per share in March 2011.  On March 15, 2011, Aegon repurchased 187.5 million of the convertible core capital securities. The total payment to  the Dutch government on March 15, 2011 amounted to EUR 1.125 billion and included a premium of EUR 375 million. 