* Q2 loss 161 mln euros vs expected 9 mln euro profit
* Unit sale loss of 385 mln euros weighs on result
* Q2 impairments of 393 mln euros
* Will sell 1 bln euros in stock to repay Dutch state
* Shares open down nearly 9 pct
(Adds conference call, stock open)
By Ben Berkowitz
AMSTERDAM, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Dutch insurer Aegon NV reported a surprise second-quarter loss on Thursday and said it would sell up to 1 billion euros ($1.41 billion) in stock to partially repay aid it received from the Dutch state.
In response, Aegon shares opened down nearly 9 percent and by 0703 GMT were trading down 48 cents at 5.24 euros in Amsterdam.
Aegon said it would save at least 370 million euros by making the payment to the state before Dec. 1. It will be able to repurchase its convertible core capital securities at a lower price than it would have to pay otherwise, and will not have to pay a coupon on the repaid amount.
On a conference call with reporters, Chief Executive Alex Wynaendts said there was no timetable on when to repay the rest of the 3 billion euros in aid it received last October.
Aegon said it would issue new shares representing up to 10 percent of its existing share capital to fund the repayment. Its largest shareholder, Vereniging Aegon, will not take part in the equity offering but will buy additional class B preferred shares to maintain its level of voting rights.
KBC Securities, in a note to clients, questioned why Aegon would raise the money through a share offering when it has excess capital on hand.
"It is somewhat strange that Aegon is raising 1 billion euros to early repay part of the Dutch State (money) received when Aegon's excess capital position at the end of June was 3.5 billion euros," analyst Dirk Peeters said in a statement.
Peeters said it also raised the question of whether the company might be preparing to repay the rest of the aid next year, or, perhaps, look at acquisitions. Aegon, Europe's sixth-largest insurer by balance sheet total, posted a net loss of 161 million euros, weighed down in part by a 385 million euro one-time loss on the sale of its Taiwan life insurance operations.
It was expected to report a second-quarter profit of 9 million euros, according to the average of 13 analysts polled for Reuters. It booked a 276 million euro profit in the same period of 2008.
The weak result from Aegon contrasted with British peer Prudential which posted a smaller-than-expected drop in first-half profit on Thursday and raised its interim dividend.
Underlying earnings before tax came in at 404 million euros, versus a consensus analyst expectation of 531 million euros.
Impairments totalled 393 million euros, Aegon said, roughly half of which were related to the downturn in the U.S. housing market
Aegon also said it would not pay an interim dividend, but would make a decision on a full-year dividend early in 2010. ($1=.7079 Euro) (Reporting by Ben Berkowitz; editing by Simon Jessop)