CS Axa

(Adds details on IPO, stock price, XL acquisition.)

 
   By Max Bernhard 
 

Shares of AXA Equitable Holdings Inc. (EQH) fell 1.4% as it started trading on the New York Stock Exchange after pricing its initial public offering below its indicated price range.

AXA Equitable, the subsidiary of French insurance giant AXA SA (CS.FR), set its offer price at $20 a share, 17% below the bottom of the $24 to $27 range it gave last month.

AXA SA has offered 137.3 million shares of AXA Equitable on the NYSE, or 25% of the company, which is valued at $11.2 billion based on the offer price.

The French insurer had previously said it will use the money raised to partially finance its planned $15.3 billion acquisition of insurer XL Group Ltd. (XL).

U.S. bank Jefferies said the lower IPO pricing could leave a potential financing gap for the acquisition.

"With 3.4 billion euros [$4.0 billion] still required to cover the XL purchase, AXA [SA] will need to find an alternative source of funding for EUR300 million to EUR600 million on our calculations," it says.

An AXA SA spokesman said the company is fully in line with its financing needs for XL.

At 1440 GMT, shares in AXA Equitable were trading at $19.72 on the New York Stock Exchange. The offering is expected to close on Monday, AXA SA said.

AXA Equitable Holdings was founded in New York in 1859, making it one of America's oldest life insurers. Long known as Equitable Life Assurance Society of the U.S, it was acquired by AXA in 1992.

Write to Max Bernhard at max.bernhard@dowjones.com; @mxbernhard

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 10, 2018 11:16 ET (15:16 GMT)

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