Dutch life insurance and pensions provider Aegon NV (AEG) said Tuesday it aims to achieve cost savings by consolidating its operations and is looking at potential acquisitions, perhaps from next year.

"That (consolidation) could be within our operations, but in particular, also, within the markets where we operate in," Aegon Chief Executive Alex Wynaendts told reporters in London.

The comments indicate that Aegon remains acquisitive even though it is currently focused on finding ways of strengthening its capital position.

Wynaendts said that in the U.S., for example, "I can well see that in the area of pensions ... there is clearly going to be opportunities for market consolidation."

"That's an area we would like to consolidate and do an acquisition so that we can become a bigger player in that market segment," he said.

Wynaendts expects consolidation within the insurance industry to kick off from 2010, with cost reduction an important feature of any acquisitions. "In past years, it was all about expanding in new markets and expanding revenue," he said. "What's taking place is that margins are under pressure. So that means you need to take action. The action we've been taking organically by reducing our costs is an important step."

"But it also means that in general, more consolidation within markets segments, within a certain country or within a certain segment. That is the best way of reducing cost," he said.

"We're very focused on realizing cost synergies. That's important - putting two organizations together and taking out the costs. That will be an answer to reduced margins," Wynaendts said. Aegon has a EUR150 million cost savings target this year, one-third of which was achieved in the first quarter.

However, Wynaendts said that under current market conditions it was hard to establish the correct valuation of any potential target acquisition. "Valuations are not very high when you look at stock market valuations, but there's also no activity taking place so its hard to judge valuations," he said.

Asked when he expects valuations to stabilize, Wynaendts said: "It's clear that we've seen a dramatic development in markets, but this could change again. And our view is that there is still a lot of uncertainty out there."

"So trading conditions will remain challenging for the rest of the year. I'll reassess after that," he said.

Company Web site: www.aegon.com

-By Vladimir Guevarra, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0) 20 7842 9486, vladimir.guevarra@dowjones.com